A Tree Hit Me On The Head In My House

All these terrible natural disasters going on got me thinking about how each moment of life is very precious.  The time you and I have on the planet could be for many more years or it could end rather abruptly.  Are you living your life as fully as you can?  What is holding you back from making each moment something to be grateful for and to enjoy?  I want to share with you an experience that could have ended my life about 4 years ago.  

I was living up in the mountains in Santa Barbara and there had been an unusual amount of rain.  Recently mudslides had blocked the road to our homes.  One night I was in my little place and I heard a loud noise while I was talking on the phone to my now wife Bobbi.  The next thing I knew I was hit on the head by a branch of a tree that had crushed through my roof.   Bobbi yelled are you ok and I said I got to go because a tree has smashed through my place.  I was a little stunned but I called my friends who lived nearby and they came quickly.  As we examined what had happened, we saw this section of the tree had broken off and about a 3 foot think trunk was lying across the top of my place.  Fortunately the trunk had big branches otherwise I would have been crushed flat.  I knew after the adrenalin had cleared that for some reason it wasn’t my time to go.  I am to this day very grateful when I remember back to that moment.  I lived because I had more to do as far as I can figure.  

Yes life can go very quickly and sometimes I wonder if those who die young leave the planet because they are done doing whatever they were here to do.  I however am not done because I am still alive and now writing my 447th blog entry (Checkout the blogs posting below).  I am assisting people in early recovery at my job at Boulder County Public Health.   I am working for peace through our peace company www.peace-together.com.  I have a wonderful loving relationship, good friends and family and our dog Pax.  Yet tomorrow is unknown and living fully today is the best I can do.  

Have a good day today and enjoy each moment as fully as you can.  There is much to be grateful for in each breath you get to take.  

The Four Sources of The Stream of Joy

Over the weekend our dog Pax spent Saturday and Sunday at Dog City, a doggy daycare here is Boulder.  He gets a report card every time he stays there.  The report card says he played so much that he wore himself and everyone else out and slept peaceful his first night away from us.  Now you have to appreciate someone who puts his whole self into play and enjoys life as fully as he can.  

Our dog Pax and most dogs do not have the human problem of being too serious.  They enjoy life as it is given too them and they don’t spend much time complaining or trying to make their lives better.  Self-improvement and making your life better is a positive goal as long as you enjoy yourself along the way.  Too many of us have gotten so focused on where we want to be that we forget to have fun along the way.  Are you guilty of that?  

I am know I am at times I spent too much time in trying to make the future better.  The last couple of years have been too concentrated on making things happen rather than being in the flow and enjoying what life has to offer.  I guess, as I get older I think about what I need to do to take care of myself.  This future planning makes sense as long as I don’t busy my now with doing and forget to have fun along the way.  

Yesterday I wrote about the stream of joy that is innate in us even though we may have lost touch with its flow within.  I want to say a little bit more about that today.  The joy in us comes from our heart, our body and our higher nature.  Our thoughts also play a part in how much joy we allow.  Here are four sources for the stream of joy available to us:

In our hearts is love and its partner is joy.  The more our hearts are open to love the more joy will flow in our lives.  The more we live in accordance with the passion of the heart the more we are open to the flow of bliss.

In our bodies is also joy, the joy of being alive, the joy of movement, the joy of intimacy, the joy of health and aliveness.

In our thoughts joy comes by having an open and receptive mind, from learning and awareness, from optimism and receptivity to expanded thinking, from our intuition and the urge to be creative.

In our higher nature, our spirit or soul there is the unlimited joy of inspiration and consciousness, the joy of spiritual being fully in the light of all of life, the joy of oneness with the Source of the Universe.  

Today and each day get more acquainted with these four flows of joy and invite them to be fully alive in you.

Are You Having Fun Yet?

Slowing down sometimes is the hardest thing to do.  This world we live in is fast paced and full of activities.   This time of year seems busy with so much to participate in as the weather gets warmer and the summer fun comes our way.  Do you enjoy this time of year?  

Lately I have felt like I have been doing and doing and too busy sometimes to sit back and enjoy.  My goal the rest of spring and summer is to have more fun.  Life keeps on happening whether I am productive or playing.  I have been very productive over the last 6-8 months and that feels positive.  Now I want to take a little more time to enjoy life, have fun, play and swim in the stream of joy that flows through me.  Does that sound good to you?

Here are a few ideas to make life more fun:

•    Take time each day to relax and enjoy the moment
•    Spend time doing what you love
•    Focus more on being rather than doing
•    Make it your goal to enjoy the people you spend time with
•    Go for more walks in nice places
•    Play music and sing along
•    Go to places that are fun and enjoyable
•    Be with people that make you laugh
•    Take quiet time for yourself
•    Get off the fast track regularly and enjoy the slower pace
•    Have more picnics
•    Take more naps and give yourself a timeout when needed
•    Outdoor sports can be lots of fun
•    Go to festivals and other fun gatherings
•    Let go of the past and play in the present
•    Take on a creative project that gets you excited
•    Get you body fit in ways you enjoy
•    Spend more time stretching (yoga) and loosening up
•    Drink lots of water and flush out for good health
•    Let your spirit soar; hear the inner callings
•    Seek the more effortless way of doing your day
•    Rest, relax and heal you mind, body and heart
•    Let your intuition guide you towards more joy
•    Keep your heart open to love
•    Keep your mind open to new points of view
•    Set your intention each day to have fun and enjoy life

I hope you find these ideas helpful.  Intend to make this the best and most fun summer you have ever had and it will be.  If you have ideas to add to this list let me know.  

Sunday Evening Reflections

I just got back this evening from our weekend graduation trip.  I so much appreciate the energy of young people who have a passion for life.  

I read an article Friday that started off saying Conservatives are happier than Liberals.  I then read further into the article and it said Conservatives were better at rationalizing so they could make even lousy situation ok my manipulating their thinking.  I have a couple of thoughts about that:

First - why is the media so obsessed about labeling people's points of view as if they can throw everyone into a couple of political categories.  That is just plain ridiculous and a totally inaccurate way of talking about points of view.  

Second - Does happiness come from rationalizing/lying to yourself about the truth?  That is an incrediable fallacy that true happiness can happen by misrepresenting reality to youself.  Sure there are times when you want to change your thinking that is negatively focus to something more positive because it simply works better.  However to deny the reality of injustice, inequality, suffering, war, greed etc. to make it ok in one's thinking would be to make what is not ok invisible.

Third - Always question what you read and seek to find your own truth.  The titled was misleading and the article made rationalization as an acceptable way of dealing with reality you don't like.  I think the use of you mind in this way is to subvert its higher purpose which is to search for the truth.  

I hope you have a good week and instead of rationalizing, I suggest you keep you mind open to the truth and your heart open to compassionate understanding.   

Lists For Inspiration

I am off to a College graduation today in Gunnison, CO a long drive from where I live.  This should be fun.  I have found myself writing more lists lately for a number of reasons.  One reason is that these lists seem to flow effortlessly through me via my many years of working with and exploring the ideas and issues I write about here at my blog.  Another reason is lists are simple clear resources that allow the reader to pick and choose what fits best.  

Here are some thoughts on how to make the best use of lists.  Take a list of ideas and read through each item paying careful attention to what you feel or how you react to what the idea.  If you feel at ease or discomfort both can be positive indicators.  Ease can mean there is something natural about exploring this particular topic.  Discomfort can mean there is an opportunity to explore something that creates and strong reaction in you.

Another way to utilize lists is to expand your thinking.  Too often our thinking can be limited by our lack of resources.  Lists help expand what you think is possible.  Take a look a the blog entries below and see what gets provoked in you.

The goal of my blog and these lists is to: activate your thinking and questioning mind; expand your higher consciousness; and develop my awareness and compassion for yourself and your fellow inhabitants on the planet.  My hope is also to encourage you to live your life with purpose and passion and for you to make a positive difference in the world.  It is my belief that informed, thinking, truth seeking and aware citizens keep democracy alive and high functioning.

Let’s all join together in our efforts to live our purpose, to expand our hearts and to leave the planet a better place than we found it.  Yes every one of us does make a difference.  The question is, are you making as big a difference as you are capable of given all the potential that resides in you?

Also:  if you like the lists I write, check out my e-books, which are full of ideas that will lift you up.  Keep checking in, there is a new e-book on the way that is full of the best lists and ideas that I have ever come across.  This book will provide lots of inspiration for years to come.    

Start With Self-Acceptance

I have written about self-acceptance in the past and I felt it was time to talk about it again.  This topic is an important one because without self-acceptance, you are the biggest roadblock in your own life.  For close to 30 years I have been working with people on ways to be accepting of who they are.  The following are strategies I have found affective.

Self-acceptance is possible when you:
•    Take time to find out how you feel and are ok with a full range of emotions
•    Take time to pay attention to you self-talk and make sure it is supportive and encouraging
•    Feel ok with your body even with its imperfections
•    Listen to your intuitive knowing
•    Forgive and release the past
•    Live in the present moment where all the possibilities are
•    Keep your thinking positive and open
•    Keep an open heart for yourself and those in your life
•    Realize you are much more than your thoughts, feelings and body
•    Feel your connection to all of life on the planet
•    Explore and express the potential in you
•    Live your unique purpose with passion
•    Pay attention to your body wisdom
•    Tap into the unlimited joy that is within you
•    Develop compassion for yourself when you struggle
•    Have appreciation for your uniqueness
•    Become aware that there is no one like you and that is your gift to the world
•    Open to the higher consciousness that resides in you
•    Live as a spiritual being having a human experience
•    See beyond the control of the ego into your higher nature
•    Appreciate the breath of aliveness that flows through you
•    Are comfortable in your own skin
•    Seek your own truth
•    Find your way to inner peace
•    Follow your own path
•    Feel grateful for yourself and your life

These ideas are only words unless you integrate them into your life.  Choose 2 or 3 of these ways to self-acceptance and explore them until you feel like they are true for you.  An example might be listening to your intuitive knowing.  The more you learn to listen to your intuition, the more you see how it is available to guide you.  The more you trust intuition, the more you will have this inner knowing offered to you.

As you explore these pathways to self-acceptance a wonderful thing will happen.  You will find yourself one day beaming with joy sitting in your own company.  That will be a beautiful moment.

Questions, Observations, Gratitude and Compassion

Today I want to make comments about what is going on out there in the news.  Before I do that I ask you to always keep questioning what you hear.  Does it seem right?  Does it make sense?  Is that the truth?  What is behind that?  The questioning mind is a huge asset to you and the world.

The cyclone in Myanmar is a terrible tragedy and I keep thinking about all the people who lost friends and family and how much they are suffering.  It reminds me to be grateful for each day, for my health, and for all that I have and for all the goodness in the world.  There are many reaching out to help.

The Chinese brought the Olympic torch to the top of Mt Everest yesterday.  They government of that country needs to climb to new heights of compassion and give Tibet back to its people.  

Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States.  The Democrats are turning out in huge number.  Hopeful this will bring a shift towards what is best for the people and the greater good and away from those that can buy the most influence.  

Hillary has been tenacious in her campaign and it is time to refocus her energy on what she can do to make this nation great again.  Her determination is needed to bring about positive change.  

This endless talk of superdelegates and their influence reminds me that we need election reform because there are too many people with super influence.

Rush Limbaugh was in the news because he thinks he can get his listeners to vote the way he wants them to.  He must feel his listeners are mindless sheep.  I would be offended by the arrogance of his believed self-importance.  I can’t believe anyone would follow the guidance of the purple kool-aide leader of hate talk radio.

Reverend Sharpton was arrested yesterday for protesting against what he feels was injustice.  I admire such courage and feel like we need many more courageous citizens in this country.

Last night on my bike ride I came about two adult geese and their three fluffy young ones and I remembered it was Spring.  I love Spring and Summer because I enjoy nature as it blooms and the warmth of a nice walk in the evening.  

I hope you have a great day and keep your questions and thinking active and engaged in what is going on.  You heart filled with compassion is also needed.    

The Three Paths To Where Who You Want To Be

As you can see, I was inspired in my writing of my blog yesterday.  My work with counseling others always helps to opening me up.  The energy of growth and healing affects everyone involved.  As I read back through my blog yesterday I got a clear idea that I needed to share, in as simple a way as possible, how to full realize our positive self.  There are three ways that I feel will bring out the best in you:  1. Take charge of your thoughts 2. Open your heart 3. Remember you are connected to the Source of all creation.

Take charge of your thoughts is about you and that brain of yours.  You are the programmer of your thoughts.  If you have thoughts and self-talk that is critical and non-supportive, then you need to change your thoughts to be encouraging and supportive.  Remember your thoughts are not real.  Your thoughts however do have a lot of influence over you so make sure they bring out the best in you.  What you focus on expands, so if you focus on what you want, you will make it happen.

Open your heart means that to get where you want to, you need to have an open heart.  A closed heart is a sad and lonely heart where very little light can get in.  An open heart is full of light and joy.  The best place to start opening your heart is by fully and completely accepting yourself and those you care for and love.  Compassion, kindness and love will make a very positive difference for you and your life.  Love truly has the capacity to resolve and heal all problems on the planet.

Remember you are connected to the Source of all creation.  See yourself and all beings as part of a greater force.  You and all life are powered by the same force that created this universe and beyond.  In your cells and in your consciousness is all the wisdom and understanding of the entire universe.  Your Higher Self is one with the Great Creative Force of all.  The more you sit in silence and realize your higher nature, the more positive your light will shine in the world.  

These three ways of living in right thought, in open heart and in full realization of your highest nature will open you to the most extraordinary and amazing life.  Let it be.

The Positive Power of You

Do you feel like you have control over your life and your experience of the world?  Or do you feel like you have little control and are more or less powerless over your life and the workings of the world?  I ask these two questions because your sense of control is more about how you think than it is about reality.  If you think that you shape your life experience by taking responsibility for what is going on in you and your world, then you do.  If you think you are a victim of circumstances, bad luck, oppressive people etc., then you feel helpless to change your life.  

In psychology the examination of internal vs external influences is called the Locus of Control.  This means that if you feel empowered to make a difference in your life and in the world than you have an internal locus of control.  Internal is about feeling within you is the power to affect your life and to be a positive force in the world.  If you are in touch with the power within, then you could feel the following ways:

•    You are in charge of what you think
•    You are in charge of how your feel
•    You are in charge of how you respond to life
•    You understand you can make a difference
•    You have the ability to affect positive change
•    You believe is yourself and who you are
•    You believe in the possibilities of others
•    You take full responsibility for your life
•    You are open to receive the abundance of the universe
•    You understand the power of the moment
•    You understand the importance of letting go/forgiveness
•    You have compassion for those who struggle
•    You have your own sense of what the truth is
•    You know you are a creator
•    You hold yourself accountable for what you do
•    You understand and feel the power of love
•    You understand the limits of ego and pride
•    You believe that you shape your experience of life
•    You understand that you are connected to a higher source
•    You understand you have a purpose and you express it
•    You feel your connection to all living things
•    You value and seek consciousness
•    You explore the potential you were given
•    You feel the joy in you that wants to be expressed
•    You feel gratitude for the many gifts of life

Living with a sense of internal control means you are ready and willing to take on the challenges of life because you believe in yourself and your ability to make a difference.  Take the list above and copy it so it can serve as a reminder of the possibilities in you.  The world would benefit greatly from you being all you can be.  

Start With These Questions To Make the World a Better Place

I have been inviting you inwards lately to get to know yourself and your inner landscape of thoughts, feelings, potential, higher wisdom, purpose, passion and inner peace.  The reason I have been encouraging this exploration is two-fold:  one reason is to assist you in creating the life you want to live; the second is to bring more consciousness to you and therefore to the world.  Both reasons are very important to personal success and to making the world a better place.  Today I would like to address making the world a better place because it seems to be so important on many levels.  

Look around you and ask is the world the way we want it to be?  My thoughts and heart tell me there is a great need for positive change.  Here are some things that are going on that I think should concern us all:

•    There are more children on medications for their behavior than ever before and those numbers keep going up.  Is medication the answer?
•    There are more Americans in prison percentage wise than in any other country.  Is putting people in prison the answer? 
•    There are more and more people going hungry and the food supply in many countries is dangerous low.  What has caused this to happen when there is such great wealth?
•    There is something wrong when the oil companies are having record profits while the people are being squeezed at the gas pumps.  Is this unrestrained capitalism at its worst?
•    There are great problems in Washington DC due to the influence of money.  Unless the money influence is eliminated, the rich will get richer, the corporations will get all they want and the people’s needs don’t really matter.  Is this ok with you?
•    There are a very significant number of people in this country who don’t question what is going on, who believe what the TV tells them, and who think sports and entertainment are all that matters.  These people are not informed citizens and this compromises our democracy.  Are you informed and involved?
•    There are real problems with the distribution of wealth as 5% of the people have close to 90% of the wealth.  The world works very well for those 5% but not for the rest of us.  What needs to happen to bring a better balance?
•    There are real problems with the free-trade agreements and they are most costly to the people.  Sure there may be cheap goods but cheap goods often mean people are being taken advantage of.  Can the world be a better place when people are unfairly treated?
•    There are problems with climate change.  Reports that refute climate change are often funded by corporations. They want us to think differently than what the hundreds of concerned scientist are trying to tell us.  There are problems and we must act to change course. 
•    There are significant problems with health care.  Our nation is way behind most of the democracies of world in providing low-cost health care to its citizens.  Isn’t it time we catch up and take care of the people?
•    There are great problems with the personal debt and the incredible debt this nation has acquired this past 7-8 years.  There is something very wrong with this situation and we need to change course.  Do you agree?
•    There is this war in Iraq and possibly a war with Iran coming and none of this is necessary except for the need for power and greed.  Our nation is occupying Iraq for power and greed and may next attack Iran.  Is this ok with you?
•    There is now government sanctioned torture, illegal imprisonment, and more and more spying on Americans.  Are you ok with these violations of rights?
•    There are many other concerns including banking rates, insurance profits, drug companies’ profits and much more in which it seems there is little or no oversight.   Has our government let us down here?

Please get involved and get active and share your concerns and ideas.  You are needed today for the good of this nation and our democracy.  Your comments here are always welcomed.

Take Time To Just Be

Another week is about to begin, what do you have planned today to relax and recharge.  Our lives are so busy with work, activities, and the day-to-day responsibilities what we can always being doing and never have time for being.  Doing is a positive because it means we are taking care of what needs to be done.  Being is also a positive thing because it means we are taking care of our inner needs.  Yesterday’s blog was focused on feelings.  When our feeling are paid attention to then we are being with how we feel.  

Other ways of being in your life include:

•    Listening to your inner urges and desires
•    Listening to your quiet wisdom and intuition
•    Following your urge to be creative
•    Hearing the needs of your inner child
•    Paying attention to your heart and the flow of love
•    Quieting the busy mind
•    Taking walks in nature and feeling your connection
•    Sensing the unity you have with all beings
•    Tuning into the guidance from your soul
•    Following your spirit’s call to soar as a human being
•    Pursuing your life’s purpose with passion
•    Realizing your human potential
•    Hearing the guidance of your higher self
•    Communing with Source, Higher Power, Great Spirit, God, Divine Mother
•    Finding comfort in just being who you are, self-acceptance
•    Say yes to what is right for you and no to what isn’t
•    Sitting, lying, walking in silence and enjoying the moment
•    Being in your body and appreciating it
•    Enjoying the simple things in life
•    Be conscious and aware in the now
•    Feeling gratitude for all the blessings of your life
•    Being at peace in your mind and heart

Try taking some time today to just be.  You deserve the joy of each moment.   

What Are You Feeling Right Now?

Today I want to write about being who you are.  You may ask, how could I not be who I am?  Well that is a good question.  I want to say to that question that most of us hold ourselves back from our fullest expression.  I watch a very nice movie last night called Juno.  Juno is 16 year old who becomes pregnant and she is ok with who she is even with the circumstances.  I realize this is just a character in a movie but as far as characters go, she shows a lot of spunk just being herself.   What she says and does comes from a place of being fairly comfortable in her own skin, meaning she feels ok about who she is.  That “okness” is fairly unique as most of us carry too many internal critical thoughts about ourselves.  

The world we grew up in shapes our sense of self and it there was criticism and a lack of emotional support then we are now adults who are hard on ourselves and most likely too numb to our feelings.  With negative self-talk and a lack of awareness or acceptance of our emotions, we will tend to be less able to feel joy and love in our lives.  

I have written often in my past blogs about self-talk.  I invite you to go exploring and see which ones you find helpful.  The basic of self-talk is that when your inner dialogue is critical and not supportive then you don’t feel ok about who you are.  The goal here is to shrink the inner critic and replace it with a kind and caring inner voice.  The best way to do that is to pay attention to your inner talk and keep replacing the self-limiting words with ones that are compassionate and lift you up.  

As far as feeling go, there is a few simple rules: all feeling are ok; you are encouraged to quit judging your feelings and instead accept them and pay attention to what they are telling you; feeling are great messengers about if you are on track or off; all feeling come and go on their own, so notice what you are feeling and soon it will pass, that is true with the pleasant ones and the difficult one; and feelings make your life worth living.  

Do you know how you feel?  Almost constantly you and I are feeling something but too often we ignore or forget to pay attention to what is going on inside.  The body is alive with feelings and if you notice you will see that those feelings are a gift.  

Check out this feeling list and if you want, print it out and carry it with you.  The more you know your feeling the more you will create the life you desire.

AFFECTIONATE
compassionate
friendly
loving
open hearted
sympathetic
tender
warm

CONFIDENT
empowered
open
proud
safe
secure

ENGAGED
absorbed
alert
curious
engrossed
enchanted
entranced
fascinated
interested
intrigued
involved
spellbound
stimulated

INSPIRED
amazed
awed
wonder

     EXCITED
amazed
animated
ardent
aroused
astonished
dazzled
eager
energetic
enthusiastic
giddy
invigorated
lively
passionate
surprised
vibrant

EXHILARATED
blissful
ecstatic
elated
enthralled
exuberant
radiant
rapturous
thrilled

GRATEFUL
appreciative
moved
thankful
touched

HOPEFUL
expectant
encouraged
optimistic
    JOYFUL
amused
delighted
glad
happy
jubilant
pleased
tickled

PEACEFUL
calm
clear headed
comfortable
centered
content
equanimous
fulfilled
mellow
quiet
relaxed
relieved
satisfied
serene
still
tranquil
trusting

REFRESHED
enlivened
rejuvenated
renewed
rested
restored
revived


AFRAID
apprehensive
dread
foreboding
frightened
mistrustful
panicked
petrified
scared
suspicious
terrified
wary
worried

ANNOYED
aggravated
dismayed
disgruntled
displeased
exasperated
frustrated
impatient
irritated
irked

ANGRY
enraged
furious
incensed
indignant
irate
livid
outraged
resentful

AVERSION
animosity
appalled
contempt
disgusted
dislike
hate
horrified
hostile
repulsed

CONFUSED
ambivalent
baffled
bewildered
dazed
hesitant
lost
mystified
perplexed
puzzled
torn

     DISCONNECTED
alienated
aloof
apathetic
bored
cold
detached
distant
distracted
indifferent
numb
removed
uninterested
withdrawn

DISQUIET
agitated
alarmed
discombobulated
disconcerted
disturbed
perturbed
rattled
restless
shocked
startled
surprised
troubled
turbulent
turmoil
uncomfortable
uneasy
unnerved
unsettled
upset

EMBARRASSED
ashamed
chagrined
flustered
guilty
mortified
self-conscious

FATIGUE
beat
burnt out
depleted
exhausted
lethargic
listless
sleepy
tired
weary
worn out

     PAIN
agony
anguished
bereaved
devastated
grief
heartbroken
hurt
lonely
miserable
regretful
remorseful

SAD
depressed
dejected
despair
despondent
disappointed
discouraged
disheartened
forlorn
gloomy
heavy hearted
hopeless
melancholy
unhappy
wretched

TENSE
anxious
cranky
distressed
distraught
edgy
fidgety
frazzled
irritable
jittery
nervous
overwhelmed
restless
stressed out

VULNERABLE
fragile
guarded
helpless
insecure
leery
reserved
sensitive
shaky

YEARNING
envious
jealous
longing
nostalgic
pining
wistful

Have a good weekend and allow yourself to feel all that you are. 

Who Profits From the Iraq War?

 I came upon this very interesting information in my regular survey of articles about what is going on in this government of ours, which seems to have lost touch with what is good for the people.  The one political party in Washington DC is the Money Influence Party and it is alive and well.  Here is something you don’t read in the mainstream newspapers.  More than a quarter of senators and congressmen have invested at least $196 million of their own money in companies doing business with the Department of Defense (DoD) that profit from the death and destruction in Iraq.

According to the latest reports, 151 members of Congress invested close to a quarter-billion in companies that received defense contracts of at least $5 million in 2006. These companies got more than $275.6 billion from the government in 2006, or $755 million per day, according to FedSpending.org, a website of the watchdog group OMBWatch.

Members of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees which oversee the Iraq war had between $32 million and $44 million invested in companies with DoD contracts.

Here is something else you may not have been made aware of by the corporate media.  When our men and women are wounded the government bills them to return their reenlistment bonus. They have to return any pay they received while they were hospitalized. They have to pay for their helmets and uniforms that are destroyed in the hell of war. But they keep on fighting for these politicians’ right to keep their war profits.

I found the information above very disturbing and not the least surprising.  The President started and has kept this war going with no opposition from Congress except rhetoric.  The information above investments and charges to the soldiers shows a Congress that has no courage in challenging the policies of the White House.  There is, without question, too much money influence going on.  

The last part about our soldiers being charged for their losses in the war is another sign of the heartless of those that speak in favor of the war.  We, my friends, have lost our way as a nation.  We have lost any sense of leadership about what is right, instead we have been sold out for profit and greed.   This war is an occupation for oil, profits and power.  Anything else we have been told is an outright lie.  

The media has gone totally comatose in asking questions about what is really going on so it is up to us.  Please starting calling and writing your elected officials and ask them to explain why they don’t represent the needs of the people any more and then tell them what needs you have in mind.  They appear to be blinded by their ambition and their desire to reap the benefits of the money influence they all think matters most.  It is up to us, are you ready for the challenge that awaits us?

Healing the Past Takes Time

Welcome to the Month of May.  I hope this is the time of year when love blossom, new opportunities pop up and you feel as if you have burst out of an old pattern.  This is the time of year to come into yourself more and for enjoying life.

Last night I sat in a group listening to the struggles of someone who has been trying to win out over her addiction for 20 years.  I felt her pain and her exhaustion from the struggle.   I thought it is time for her to have a new perspective, to blossom from all the inner work and healing she has worked on in the past.  We often have our own struggles that we have been working at for years to understand, change, heal or be at peace with.  

The following are areas many of us have felt the desire to heal or express more fully:

•    Positive Self Esteem
•    Feeling like we are ok
•    Feeling like we deserve
•    Trying to feel ok with our emotions
•    Accepting who we are
•    Being comfortable in our own bodies
•    Finding peace of mind
•    Trying to be more conscious and aware
•    Having self-talk that is supportive
•    Seeking to have more meaning in life
•    Trying to find self-confidence
•    Wanting to be more patient
•    Keeping your heart open
•    Being compassionate for yourself and others
•    Being a good listener
•    Feeling positive about your career
•    Being receptive to success and prosperity
•    Letting go and forgiving the past
•    Loving yourself just as you are
•    Trusting in your self and others
•    Express the potential you can feel inside
•    Allow yourself to be more creative
•    Making a positive difference in the world

What others come to your mind?  What do you lack now to make you feel more whole, more self-realized?  Who do you want to become?  What is holding you back?

Our lives are full of possibilities and potential.  We are in reality the only one who gets in our way.  What is your next step to be who you want to be?  I write often at this blog about these issues.  Let me know if you have any question at explorelifeblog@inbox.com.

Muffin Boy Discovered

Yesterday I got ambitious and made some muffins with fresh blackberries in them.  I love cooking and making things that taste good and are healthy.  My wife and I each ate a large muffin when they came out of the oven.  They were delicious.  I put three of them on the cooling rack and placed one in my bag for lunch.  I expected to have one that night when I got home.  

Somewhere after my exit for work and my wife bringing Pax back from the dog park the muffins disappeared.  She was down in her office working away and at some point in the afternoon she went upstairs and the rack was empty and there wasn’t a crumb of the muffins to be seen.  At first she thought they had been put away.  Then it dawned on her that our getting bigger puppy must be a muffin boy because he ate the three on the rack and there wasn’t any sign of his counter surfing adventure.  Unfortunately for his stomach, she feed him his dinner before she realized the muffins must be already in there.

Pax on the other hand never said much.  I guess he just figured he made a nice score from the counter and no one noticed.  The muffin boy gives us such great joy that even stealing our delicious treats made us laugh.  Soon however, I need to get back to baking because my love and I didn’t satisfy our muffin urge.   

If Pax could talk however he would be a like a minister who tells his church one Sunday he is ill and sneaks off to play golf and then gets a hole-in-one; who can he share his excitement with.  

Hope you have a good day and enjoy what is in your life to enjoy.

Do Routines Limit Flow?

Sometimes I feel too boxed in by routines.  Lately I have felt that with working fulltime, writing my blog, and working out everyday.  My work seems to take a lot of energy some days because of the needs of the people I work with as they struggle with their addictions.  Writing my blog is almost always something that gives me energy as I feel the writing flows through me.  My workouts give me energy also but the routines need to be changed around some to get better results.  In general changing routines is a very positive thing to do.  

I have been working on two things for myself around changing routines lately.  One is to take more time in meditation.  I seem to fill my day and leave little for contemplation lately.  I must recommit to that or it will be haphazard as it is now.  I feel too boxed in when all of my day is filled with things I think I should be doing.  Do you ever feel that way?

The other thing I am working on is being more in the flow.  Flow to me is creative, intuitive, moment to moment going with forces that are greater than the drives of ego and personality.  Sometimes I like writing so much because it gives me the space to spell out what is going on in my head.  Frankly there is more to flow for me to learn.  I feel sometimes totally in the flow and other times boxing my way out of the stranglehold of my habits and ego.  What do you understand about flow?

I think of politics as an example of anti-flow where approval seeking is the sole goal and who you are gets lost in figuring out what others want to see in you.  Yikes talking about a prison of ones own ego and ambition.  Please take a moment to be grateful for the people willing to do this profession of being the government we need to make this country work.   This job as an elected official is a very hard one but needed.  

I will explore shaking up the routines a little and it may affect the time of day I do my blog postings.  Thank you readers for taking the time to check me out.  I am always working on being a higher and clearer source of inspiration.  Other times I write to share my progressive viewpoints about that state of affairs of our country and the world because I have to speak up.  Stay tuned and see where I go next.  Your comments are always welcomed.

13 Points For Living

My points of contemplation in yesterday’s blog are worth a deeper look.  I want to share with you my thoughts about why each point deserves a careful examination because of their potential to significantly enhance your life.

Point 1. We are all connected to each other.  We all share this tiny dot of a planet together in this huge universe.  This organism called Earth is our home and what we do affects each other, what we think impacts each other’s thoughts, and how we feel sends vibrations around the globe.  Our collective consciousness represents the highest human knowing.  Take time to sit quietly and let the unity become something you feel and experience.

Point 2. We all come equipped with the capacity to love that is unlimited.  As we grow into our lives there are many experiences and ideas that may close us down in the heart.  None of those contractions of the heart truly limit our capacity to love.  The love we have inside is greater than all the pain we may have suffered or the protection we may have put up to guard our heart.   Take time each day to open your heart, to feel the vibrant love within and share as much as you can.

Point 3. We all have within us the ability to be creative.  Some believe they do not.  That is a false and limiting belief.  Each of us is innately creative and that creativity is waiting to be expressed.  There has never been found a limit to human creativity.  Look around and see all that has been created by humans and realize it begun as a creative urge.  Listen to you own creative urges and express them as often as you can.

Point 4. Our lives are a reflection of who we are.  If we have relationships that are filled with kindness and love than we are most likely kind and loving.  If things tend to work out well for us than we tend to have a positive frame of mind.  If we tend to be grumpy and disappointed in others and ourselves than we are probably critical and blaming.  If you want feedback about how to improve your life, look at what you have created and make changes where needed.  Take time to always look at being more accepting, loving and kind to yourself and to those around you.

Point 5. Our desires have a positive purpose.  There are some religious traditions that warn against desires.  They are missing the point.  We have desire to call us to be more, to express more, to explore more, to realize more of who we are.  All desire is calling us to further explore the possibilities in us.  The desire to seek pleasure is to help us find our joy and love.  Sure some desires go off track; that is because we have lost touch with the deeper desires.  Pay attention to what desires are calling you today and explore how you are being called out to be more.

Point 6. In this moment we can fully awaken.  We are already all we want to be if we allow ourselves to be the consciousness we have inside.  The point of waking up and expressing who we are at our highest level is to live our purpose in complete expression.  Our urge to be is about being a conscious human being and there is a real need for that consciousness on the planet today.  Take time to tune inward and find the light of consciousness that wants to be expressed through you.

Point 7. Inside of you and I is a desire to open and allow the greatest of human possibilities to be expressed.  Being open means our hearts and minds are receptive.  Allowing means clearing away any beliefs or limiting ideas that may be holding us back.  There are often too many of these limits inside.  Take time each day to free yourself from ideas that are holding you back from the abundance you desire.

Point 8. The flow of the universe is worth the time to explore.  Instead of trying to make things happen an easier more effective way is to tune into the flow of life and the natural world.  Too much time is spent with putting lots of effort into things when opening to the flow of the greater forces can make thing happen in amazing ways.  Take time to open to the flow, to find your way to an abundant life.

Point 9.  We are given awareness to help us realize who we are and the possibilities in us.  There is within our cells and consciousness the collection of wisdom of all of humankind and the universe.  Awareness allows us to tapped into this higher knowing.  Awareness helps us to make better choices and to change for the better.  Each day take some time to be aware, to tune in, to sense the great source within you and allow who you are to expand.

Point 10.  Each of us has a purpose that only we can fulfill.  There never was nor will their ever be someone who can be the purpose we have inside.  Each of us needs to express that purpose for the greater good.  If we do not then the world looses out.  If we do the world is better for it.  Listen to what your purpose is and then with all the passion you have inside, let it be expressed through you.

Point 11. What we put out attention on causes it to expand.  What we think about becomes more and more powerful within.  If we keep focusing on success and well-being then we will cause those ideas to grow and expand.  The more attention, the more results we create.  Get clear what you want in your life and then put your attention on making it happen.

Point 12. Silence is truly golden.  The more we tune into the quiet stillness inside the better we are guided to our fullest expression.  In the quiet of each moment is infinite wisdom. Spending time without the TV or radio on, in our own quiet company will pay many positive dividends.  Set time aside each day to sit in quiet meditation or contemplation and your life will become more and more a reflection of peace, love, joy and consciousness.

Point 13.  Yes we are called to be creators, to create in this life what only we can create.  The people that have made the greatest human contributions have all been creators.  Creators come up with new ideas, new points of view, new awareness, new inventions, new consciousness, new images, and more that invite all of us to also create.   Yes creativity and living with purpose is about you and I as creators.  Find what is calling within you to be expressed and go out into the world and be the creator that makes the world a better place.  

Let me know which ones of these call to you the most.  Hear that calling and let it be expressed through you, your heart, your mind, your body, and your soul.   

Sunday Contemplations

Today is Sunday and I like to spend some of it in contemplation.  Here are a couple of thoughts I want to explore, I invite you to take a look at these ideas to and see how you can use them to be a more powerful creator in your own life.

•    My natural state is one of unity with all things
•    My heart has no limits to its giving
•    My creativity has not limits to its expression
•    My life and relationships are a reflection of me
•    My desires call me to be more
•    My ability to be present will expand my consciousness
•    My openness will allow great results into my life
•    My alignment with flow will create abundance
•    My awareness will open me to a much greater knowing
•    My purpose is calling me to my unique greatness
•    My attention causes my world to expand
•    My silence guides me to my highest realization
•    My greatest contribution is being a creator

Have a good day and enjoy the potential in you seeking expression.

 

The Ever Expanding Universe 

Defrosting Your Life

I have been writing a lot lately about the importance of us all asking many more questions as citizens of a democracy.  Today I want to return to my emphasis on the inner workings of people as a way to find more love, joy, and success in our lives.  

Yesterday was a day of celebration at my new job as the first graduates of our 3-week recovery program complete phase one of the taking back control of their lives.  It was a good day and the energy was very upbeat.  I bring this up because I feel positive about the success of these three people who had lost their way.  Recovery is a life long journey and they are just starting.  Their work reminded me that drugs and alcohol is not the only thing people have to recover from.  

Many of you were raised with less than positive sense of yourself; had the experience of dominating beliefs systems like religion; grew up with parents who were emotionally damaged from their upbringing; or other experiences that caused you to think of yourself and the world in limiting ways.  

The question that keeps coming to my mind is how do you and I defrost from the numbing of emotions, the protecting of the heart, and the constriction of thinking we may have learned.  I think you will find the following ideas helpful to recover your own life from any of the past still holding you back.

1.    Be loving to yourself, get to know your heart’s desires
2.    Listen to and feel what emotions are flowing through you
3.    Pay attention to your desires, they are calling you to be more
4.    Express the creativity and potential that you feel inside
5.    Listen to the child within and playful about life
6.    Let your intuition guide you throughout your day
7.    Start talking to you soul, find out what it wants for you
8.    Discover and explore the special talents your were given
9.    Live your purpose with as much passion as you can
10.    Love as fully as possible every day
11.    Follow what makes you feel alive and blissful
12.    Stop “doing” all the time and just “be”
13.    Make having fun your daily goal
14.    Discontinue holding yourself back for the approval of others
15.    Let go of the past and live fully in the now
16.    Try being less serious and have more fun
17.    Practice only doing what feels right to you
18.    Pay attention to your self-talk and make it be kind
19.    Find your own truth
20.    Set yourself free of anything that is holding you back

Explore and enjoy the recovery of your own life.  You are meant to be more than you are allowing at this time.

Are We Being Told the Truth?

The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.
John F. Kennedy

I found this quote and I used in my blog yesterday and it provoked a number of thoughts it me.  The truth of this statement struck me as something we should all think about it.  That is why it is highlighted in my blog today.  There are many things active citizens need to do.  You need to be informed, share your opinion, get involved, vote, and pay attention to what is being said and question if it is true.  

Here are some ideas and examples where lots of questions need to be asked:

•    If you have military experts advising lawmakers and being experts on the news and they are being paid by the Pentagon, than you must consider their bias.   
•    If someone from White House says something, you must consider the source from where it came from.  
•    All politics are influenced by those providing money to the campaign chests of our elected official.  You need to remember that money often speaks louder than the needs of the people.  That is just the facts.
•    Always consider the source, is a basic law of being an informed citizen
•    If you have a business group financing a research project you have to look at the built in bias of the research.
•    If you have the oil or power companies finance a project to assess global warning than it will produce the results it wants, which is to say there is no global warming.
•    When I looked into the problems at Walter Reed Hospital and the awful conditions for the veterans, I found a subsidiary of Halliburton in charge.  The Army did not want to give up control of their hospital but the White House insisted.  VP Cheney is the former CEO of that company.
•    In 2000, 2004, and 2006 there has been irregular voting results that look like something fishy was going on and all of these problems have been ignored.  Al Gore won the election in 2000 and all the post election vote counts found that to be true but because of the manipulation of votes we have had a nightmare of a presidency.  
•    Federal oversight has all but disappeared during this administration.  It is as if no one is watching out for the people.
•    Congress has just rolled over to the biggest executive power grab in the history of the US government.  Bush has basically been unchecked and there has been no accountability.
•    Banking, energy, drugs and insurance companies have had a hay day during this administration as if no one cared at all about the people.  
•    There is one thing for sure in D.C., there is lots of talk, lots of posturing but is there really government going on that is concerned about what is for the common good.  The answer appears to be “No.”
•    Nightly network news is about sensationalism and a corporate agenda, not about presenting objective news and information.  Much of news has become opinion with a heavy bias.  Think Fox news, which is based on a clear slant of the network.  The liberal press does not exist.  It is in fact the corporate press.
•    How come 5% of the people have 90% of the wealth in this country?  Does that seem right to you?
*    Do you remember we had a budget surplus when this administration came in to office and now we have a huge debt and the President says the war he started has nothing to do with the economy.  Who should be held responsible for the mess that has been created?

 

There are many more examples and only a dedicated citizen takes the time to search for the truth.  If we are not all dedicated than our future is left up to those that want to buy influence and there is lots of money around to do that.  Who has benefited most from the economy over the last 8 years of this administration?  The answers is, if you don’t already know, those that have money and influence.   

I am just stirring things up and inviting you to be an active citizen.  Even if we don’t agree on candidates, you and I must take a look at the dysfunction of our system of government.  If you don’t see anything wrong, than it is time to look beyond the talking points, the misinformation, and the endless so-called expert opinion, much of which has no value at all.