There are people out their making a very positive difference in the world, modern day heroes who are driven by compassion. Those on a heart-guided mission are needed in these times where greed and power seems to be the major forces driving people that shape our nation and the planet.
One of the most impressive heart-driven persons on the planet is Doctor Paul Farmer. He has fully dedicated his life to bringing health to the less fortunate people on the planet. He combines his training in Medicine with a degree in Anthropology to be an especially effective advocate for curing large-scale diseases. His organization is called Partners In Health at www.pih.org. Please check out his work and give to support the difference they are making.
I write about people like Paul Farmer because they are an inspiration to me and hopefully to you. If you want to read more about him go to your library and checkout: Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World.
That capacity and realized potential in Dr Farmer is in you and I also. There are things you and I are here to do in this life that are unlike anyone else. Can you feel the urge in you to be great, to do something that makes the world a better place and that brings out the best in you? Yes you who have been in waiting, yes you that feel the urge but don’t yet see the picture of what you are to do. The best things to do are: to take some time to listen inward; to start writing in an idea journal; to talk with others who can stimulate your thinking; and to pay attention to your higher self, your spirit. There is guidance within waiting to express itself.
Today make a commitment to take another step toward the mission you can start nurturing inside. Do that by setting time aside today to tune in and allow yourself to be guided. Each day let that guidance clarify itself until a clear picture begins to form. When you can see it and feel it, you can make it happen.
Let your light shine and brighten the lives of all you touch.
You As Author Of Your Story
The novel Exile by Richard North Patterson has kept me occupied for the last week. It is fast moving book about the seemingly endless struggle of both the people of Israel and the Palestinians. I have felt so caught up in the story that I can feel that struggle as if I have been a direct witness to it. I have not but this book has expanded my sense of compassion for all those in the midst of such suffering.
The advantage of a story like this is that it helps me open my heart to those who suffer so constantly. It assists me in being a more conscious person by placing me rather directly in all that this story explores. It also gives me a great sense of gratitude for my own life and the freedom to live as I choose. I feel very fortunate not to be in the situation this story spells out.
The power of stories are that they can teach you and I so much about human struggle and the yearning for a fuller life. Stories can help us feel for others. Stories can help us appreciate what we have. Stories can bring us insight and awareness. Stories can awaken in us new and broader perspectives expanding our viewpoint and opening our minds even further. Stories can give you and I more to be thankful for and more to appreciate.
I have always appreciated the value of stories that touch me, that help me experience life in ways that I don’t get to have in reality. I don’t want to be in this story I am reading. There have been other stories I would like to have been in because they were full of fun adventures or enlightening exploration.
I am however only in my own story and frankly it is a story that I like as it constantly evolves. There seems to some positive options unfolding and I get to participate. How about your story, does it need you to appreciate it more, spice it up, make some adjustments, pull out of a rut, invite another person(s) in, or release yourself to be freer in what you have been given?
It seems to me we are the creator of our own story. I suggest to you that you make a thorough assessment of the story you have created called, Your Life. If it isn’t what you quite had in mind, I encourage you to make the necessary adjustment and get on with it in the manner you want to live. Now is the time. If you just wait than you may have to settle for less then you hope for. If you take action to spice things up then with time you may find yourself just where you want to be.
If you are not having fun, maybe it is time you make it happen.
June Is Slow Down Time
Sunday afternoon is a great time to take a nap. I just finished one a short while ago. This has been a very relaxing weekend. The past 3 weekends where filled with family obligations. Those too can be nice but they involve lots of driving and little down time. I had a nice run in the foothills and Pax got a great walk with my wife who for now is limited in her movement due to a knee that needs repair. Other than making lunch, my main activity has been one of my favorites, sitting and enjoying a novel.
I hope this first day of June has been a good one for you. June, I think that means we are through with the cold blast from the north and the west? June is the time of year where I start feeling antsy for a road trip or vacation. I want to go exploring and enjoy being outdoors. Do you get the same urge this time of year? Do you enjoy vacations? I love to go to places I have never been before and check them out. As an adult I don’t think I have gone to the same place in any of my vacations. Do you like to go to some place familiar or new places?
June is the time for me to sit back and enjoy life more. I feel that it is a time were I spent less time doing and more time being. It is also a time when I like to garden. I went to the local grower yesterday and got a wonderful selection of plants including banana peppers, strawberries, cherry tomatoes and regular tomatoes, three different kind of basil, sunflowers and some daffodils to keep the bugs away. I already had lavender, tarragon and chives which all came up on their own from last year. I live in a place where I grow my plants in pots and very much enjoy tending to them and watching them grow.
June is the time to take time and enjoy life in the slower lane. I enjoy slowing down and finding pleasure in the simple things. I hope you find June to be fun, relaxing and with a variety of new enjoyable experiences.
Have a good week and step into this quote as fully as you are able.
“The highest point of life may be to live in a state of pure flow a “now-state” without past or future, in which prediction and control are not factors – a state of continual, instant-by-instant adaptation to the unknown.” Joseph Chilton Pearce
On Politics And Emotions
Politics is a loaded topic for most because there are so many emotions behind what people think and believe. Yes your thought/beliefs are the primary source for your feelings. I work with people in addiction recovery and one of my basics for their treatment is to help them realize the connection between thoughts/ beliefs/self-talk and the emotions they feel. The more they understand that, the more we understand that, the better chance they have and the better chance the world has.
Let me say more about the place of emotions both personally and it politics in general. First the feelings we have tend to have a large influence on us, whether we acknowledge them or not. Acknowledge feelings tend to dissipate on their own. Suppressed emotions tend to gather in the body as tension. If we allow ourselves to fully experience our full range of emotions than we tend to find life to be more alive and enjoyable. If we tend to deny how we feel and sit on our emotions than we tend to feel uneasy and not so pleased with life.
On the political level emotions originate most powerfully from rigidly held beliefs. If others question our beliefs we can can react strongly if we tend to be constricted in our thinking. People that are damn sure they know what is right for this country often really have no helpful ideas become of a set of very limiting beliefs. Those that are conservative by nature tend to hold on to old ideas and the past. Those that feel unable to question authority are often driven by fear. The idea of blind allegiance has always cause problems in the history of humankind. We need thinking, open-minded, understanding people involved not rigid fear-driven idealists who have no ability to listen or truly communicate.
I am of the progressive, open-minded point of view not because I think it is right but because it is the only way for a democracy to work successfully. What’s needed is transparency, dialogue, conversations, new ideas, an expansive points of view and an ability to see the bigger picture both now and for the future.
The emotions of fear, needing to be in control, the drive of greed, and the need to avoid change are all on the limited end of the spectrum. The emotions of compassion, love, kindness, consideration, openness, are all on the more expansive end of the spectrum. I invite you to feel what you feel, be open to all points of view, keep compassion as your goal and feel the innate joy in you that wants to be expressed when you allow yourself to be free to feel.
Let me say more about the place of emotions both personally and it politics in general. First the feelings we have tend to have a large influence on us, whether we acknowledge them or not. Acknowledge feelings tend to dissipate on their own. Suppressed emotions tend to gather in the body as tension. If we allow ourselves to fully experience our full range of emotions than we tend to find life to be more alive and enjoyable. If we tend to deny how we feel and sit on our emotions than we tend to feel uneasy and not so pleased with life.
On the political level emotions originate most powerfully from rigidly held beliefs. If others question our beliefs we can can react strongly if we tend to be constricted in our thinking. People that are damn sure they know what is right for this country often really have no helpful ideas become of a set of very limiting beliefs. Those that are conservative by nature tend to hold on to old ideas and the past. Those that feel unable to question authority are often driven by fear. The idea of blind allegiance has always cause problems in the history of humankind. We need thinking, open-minded, understanding people involved not rigid fear-driven idealists who have no ability to listen or truly communicate.
I am of the progressive, open-minded point of view not because I think it is right but because it is the only way for a democracy to work successfully. What’s needed is transparency, dialogue, conversations, new ideas, an expansive points of view and an ability to see the bigger picture both now and for the future.
The emotions of fear, needing to be in control, the drive of greed, and the need to avoid change are all on the limited end of the spectrum. The emotions of compassion, love, kindness, consideration, openness, are all on the more expansive end of the spectrum. I invite you to feel what you feel, be open to all points of view, keep compassion as your goal and feel the innate joy in you that wants to be expressed when you allow yourself to be free to feel.
Educate To Nuture Individuals
Education in our society can do a much better job at growing individuals who think on their own, question so-called authority, hear their own unique calling, live with compassion, and be able to see the bigger picture. Here are some ways to make education about bringing out the best in people:
1. Help people find their purpose, the mission they have in their lifetime, and explore their potential
2. Teach people to appreciate all cultures and become citizens of the world beyond their national boundaries
3. Encourage people to be genuine, real individuals who listen to the guidance within
4. Teach people that all life is precious, that wars make no sense, that all species on the planet have value
5. Grow self-acceptance in all human beings. Those who believe in themselves make better planetary citizens
6. Teach the value of being an aware and conscious human being. To spread consciousness will awaken the world
7. Awaken the appreciation of beauty and wonder. This planet is a gift and so is the rich beauty of nature and human creation
8. Teach people to set limits, have personal boundaries, and reshape all laws so they are for the benefit of all the people
9. Teach people the power of thoughtful and wise choices. What matters most, for the good of all?
10. Help people take on the big concerns of society and become positive agents for change
What would you add to make education about what is best for the people and the planet?
Have a wonderful weekend and remember you can make a difference.
Alan Watts' View On Religion’s Purpose
“Real religion is the transformation of anxiety into laughter.”
I came upon this quote by the thoughtful Eastern philosopher and teacher Alan Watts. The quote is one that will get you thinking. There is certainly much anxiety in the world these days. To me mnay religions often creates anxiety by being too authoritarian with so many rules and expected beliefs. When is real laughter and joy nurtured in that kind of structure? If your belief system limits laughter than it may be time to revisit your beliefs.
The world and its forms of order like governments, religions, corporations, and societal expectations seems to far removed from the inner joy and peace we all hope to experience. Is laughter a part of your work, a part of your life. If so you are on the right track.
Transformation means to move from the old ways to the more expansive present. The transformation of anxiety into laughter would be going from the fear of the unknown to the joy of the moment.
These ideas are what quote this stirred in me. What thoughts get provoked in you?
Let the laughter be part of each day. Laughter is good for the mind, the body, the heart and your spirit.
You Are Wired For Response Ability
It has been dreary here in Boulder the last couple of days. It reminds me of the Pacific Northwest where I grew up under cloudy days and lots of moisture in the form of rain. I feel kind of under the influence of the dreariness. Does that happen to you too? Are you affected by the circumstances around you? Of course you are.
Yes you and I are in relationship to everything around us from atmospheric pressure; to the moods of the people we work with; to the rhythms of the moon and tides; to our own flow of emotions; and so much more.
Your response ability (worded uniquely here) is to be aware of your thoughts and the emotional resonance you have to what is going on around you. In other words how you feel and think about the situations you find yourself in, will affect you experience of it. Your thoughts can be receptive and expansive to what is present or closed down and protected. That is human nature to either be in contraction or expansion.
The purpose of these thoughts I am sharing with you is as a reminder that you and I have the ability to shape our experience no matter what is going on around us. The dreary weather can remind me of the mystical lands of Taoist China or bum me out resurrecting my PTSD from my childhood shrouded in rain. That PTSD is more than a slight exaggeration but in fact a mind bent on traumatizing about the past is more than capable of it.
As I have written often here, our minds/thoughts are powerful influencers in whether we experience life in a positive or negative light, in an expanded way or allowing ourselves to be run by our fears. So choose carefully what thoughts you want to have/create. In the conscious choosing, life becomes the results you want to create. Short of that level of awareness you run the risk of a willy-nilly life in which you can feel more victim than creator.
Have a conscious thoughtful day.
Have A Summer Of Self-Healing
The first holiday of summer is now in the rearview mirror and I look forward to the next 3-4 months of warm weather. I love being outside on a warm day and enjoying my running, biking, hiking, gardening, listening to music, going for walks and everything else that goes with this time of year. To me this is also a time to relax, have fun and to heal what ails your heart or your thoughts.
In the quiet moments of a vacation or long weekend there is time to write and contemplate. There is time to listen inward and hear what you are guided to do for yourself. Self-healing is about taking the time needed to care about yourself, to love you as you are, to forgive, to open your heart again, to erase the limiting thoughts or beliefs. Here are some ideas to nurture what needs healing in you:
• Long slow walks in nature are soothing and renewing if you allow the peace of the moment to guide you
• Writing in a journal about the river of emotions that flow through you can be very validated and expand your acceptance of who you are
• Taking a drive to a new place to explore and enjoy can be very renewing. Exploring life brings out the joy and possibilities in you.
• Expressing your creativity can be very healing as you release what needs to come out and open to what wants to manifest
• Sitting in silence is a balm for what needs to be cared for inside of you. In the quiet stillness is all you need to do to be whole again
• Loving yourself, you partner, your family and friends will open you to the kind of deep healing that only love can provide
• Resting the mind and body from the endless doing slows you down enough to nurture what just needs to be.
• Hearing the aches and pains allows you to know when to back off or push through in the moment of activity
• Listening to the call of your intuition can direct you to what you know inside is right and expansive for you
• Napping is made for a warm afternoon when the body has had enough and it wants just a little break to refresh and recharge
• Setting time aside for massage, hot soaks, spa nurturing, energy balancing, stretching, and more will do wonders for what has gotten out of balance
Explore these and others ways of healing this summer will help break the cycle of hurry and worry that so dominates modern lives. If you invest in self-healing, you will find the joy of peace and the freedom of a healthy and alive heart.
Memorial Day, War Is Off Track
I hope you Memorial Day has gone well.
I want to remember the now over 4080 soldiers who have died because of a war that never should have happened. They died because they were doing what they thought was right. Too bad the president had no idea what he was doing.
Here is a scary statistic. The military is deal with about 1000 suicidal soldiers a month. If this war was right how come the soldiers feel so emotionally upset?
We badly need new leadership in this country and it is not McCain who will keep this country heading in same insane direction.
We need to all make sure that together we bring sanity, wisdom, lots of questions, and inspired leadership to our once great nation.
Quotes of Maslow
A few more ideas that Maslow had that I think you will find helpful. He was a Humanistic Psychologist that made so much sense and invited the best in people.
A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself.
All the evidence that we have indicates that it is reasonable to assume in practically every human being, and certainly in almost every newborn baby, that there is an active will toward health, an impulse towards growth, or towards the actualization.
Classic economic theory, based as it is on an inadequate theory of human motivation, could be revolutionized by accepting the reality of higher human needs, including the impulse to self actualization and the love for the highest values.
Dispassionate objectivity is itself a passion, for the real and for the truth.
If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.
One's only rival is one's own potentialities. One's only failure is failing to live up to one's own possibilities. In this sense, every man can be a king, and must therefore be treated like a king.
The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.
The fact is that people are good, if only their fundamental wishes are satisfied, their wish for affection and security. Give people affection and security, and they will give affection and be secure in their feelings and their behavior.
The story of the human race is the story of men and women selling themselves short.
We are not in a position in which we have nothing to work with. We already have capacities, talents, direction, missions, callings.
We fear to know the fearsome and unsavory aspects of ourselves, but we fear even more to know the godlike in ourselves.
What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself.
Abraham Maslow
Hierarchy of Needs
The chart above is from Wikipedia and it shows Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I wanted to show it to you in case you have not seen it. This diagram is very helpful when it comes to understanding the power of all of our needs.
At the Physiological level is the need for food and shelter. Those needs must be met for us to create the next level of need realization. In other words, if we don’t have food in our stomach and a roof over our heads than the above needs are not our focus. If people are hungry and homeless they have little if any time to pursue higher states of functioning. Think of those who have suffered disasters recently.
At the Safety level our security is a key issue after food and shelter. With security people can focus on love and friendship. Without it people are have little room for the heart and social connection. Think of those without a homeland, living in dangerous unsafe places, dominated by fear.
At the Love and Belonging level is the importance of the heart, of community, of family. Those that have love and community have the ability to feel better about themselves and to make things happen in their world. Those without love and belonging feel unable to achieve the life the want. They lack confidence. Think of those lonely isolated people struggling with addiction and mental health issues.
At the Esteem level is the importance of sense of self, of confidence to be the creator of your life. Those that have confidence and respect for others have the ability to make a positive difference in the world. Those that do not have a positive self-esteem feel trapped in doubt. Think of people you know who lack confidence and a positive sense of self. Even be aware of this lack that may be in you and how it holds you back.
At the Self-Actualization level is the highest function we can achieve. In this state of moving toward self-realization, we can hope to more fully realize our potential and live with clarity and purpose. This level is ideal yet most of us spend time going between levels attempting to be our highest expression. Think of people who you admire, who are living with purpose and making the world a better place. Think of compassionate and understanding people who can see the bigger picture.
I hope this gives you some insight into why paying attention to your needs is important. When you are able to work your way up the need levels, you will find each higher levels sets you more free to be who you are. I hope the top several levels is where you are able to spend most of your time. Be Peace and Purpose.
Oil Executive’s B.S. to Congress
The CEO’s of the major oil companies were testifying in front of Congress two days ago and there was very little coverage of what was said. I was very curious as to why there hasn’t been more coverage and more questions of the oil executives. I would think that if Congress was really interested in doing something about soaring gas prices they would have put those richly paid leaders more on the spot.
Does it seem to you that Congress is not really looking out for the people in these hearings, which seem more show than substance? Members of Congress pretend to come down on these oil executives but really don’t because the oil lobby has such a huge influence in Washington DC.
In this hearing made for TV, the oil executives said they had nothing to do with the huge raise in gas prices at the pump. They said the problem was short supply and that was causing the price of oil to go up. They also said the huge profits they are having has nothing to do with the price of gas. I find this statement to be totally absurd don’t you? How stupid do they think people are? They said they had to keep the profits up to protect themselves incase in the future they might have smaller profits. Congress made some strong statements of displeasure and proceeded to do nothing.
We my friends, are being taken to the cleaners and Congress is clearly on the side of the oil industry. As a matter of fact Congress continues to give the oil companies huge tax breaks despite the record profits.
I write about this, not to make you angry but to hopefully get you asking questions and to encourage you to get involved in taking back this country from those that only have mega profits at any cost as their goal. We need to have people involved who care about people, who have heart and compassion, who can see the bigger pictures and what is for the common good. You can make a difference. You have untapped resources within you that make you more powerful than you can imagine when you have a purpose to make the world a better place. If not you, who?
Have a good 3-day weekend. I will write more about you, you purpose and the world this weekend. Comments welcome.
Twelve Ways To Be Self-Actualized
I hope you found the idea of self-actualization as something worth setting your sights on. For most of my adult life I have been exploring the idea that I can continue to be more fully self-realized. Self-realization equals self-actualization. Realizing your potential is self-actualization. Being an authentic and genuine person is self-actualization. The following 12 ways can take you toward being a self-actualized human being. Enjoy this journey because it is what makes life worth living.
1. Listen to your own guidance and let go of seeking the approval of others.
2. Express and experience life as fully as you can. Be alive. Be real.
3. Be willing to take risks, live to progress, always be open to growing. Don’t ever let fear stop you from what you know you are to do.
4. Find out who you are and let you be expressed. Let your own unique qualities come out without concern for the expectations or opinions of others.
5. Shut out the external and instead be guided by the internal knowing of how you and your life are to be lived.
6. Be open and honest with yourself and others. This sets you free.
7. Take full responsibility for your life. This empowers you to be the creator.
8. Live your purpose; go on a your mission with passion and without regard to what others may judge as ok or significant.
9. Let your intelligence present itself through your thinking, your emotions, your body, your senses, your play, your aliveness or in whatever form it may take in you.
10. Follow your strengths and interests. Listen to your desires. Pay attention to your intuition. Be led by your heart.
11. Learn what brings peace and sets you free and enjoy the pleasure of each moment.
12. Follow your bliss and let your eyes shine with joy.
Have fun, be happy and love lots.
Maslow’s Ideas Make Sense Today
One of my favorite psychologists when I was exploring ideas in graduate school was Abraham Maslow. His interest in psychology was studying healthy people while most others studies what was wrong with people. One of his key concepts involved self-actualization which was the movement of human beings toward the full realization of their potential; to be fully who they are. Being who you are as fully as you can be is what you are all seeking to realize in this lifetime.
A key ingredient of self-actualization is the acceptance of who you are and the willingness to also accept others as they are. This acceptance allows you to be ok with yourself and others in ways that keeps your heart open. An open heart makes self-actualization possible.
Another key aspect of self-actualization is the understanding of your basic goodness. This basic goodness idea is contrary to many religious points of view. Goodness is innate, not sin, not evil, not being bad or any other limiting point of view. Feel the goodness in you.
A third key ingredient is the desire for growth and to continue to further express your uniqueness. Self-actualized people are not like others in that they tend to be less driven by the need for approval as if on their own path of learning and living. Maslow says if you are not seeking growth you will not feel ok because your nature is to grow. What areas of your life are you growing in?
Actualized people are spontaneous, creative, self-directed, playful, take responsibility for themselves, authentic, respectful, value-driven, comfortable alone, have a sense of humor, loving and other expansive qualities. Which of these qualities can you identify with?
There are a number of other aspects of Maslow’s self-actualization. I will share more of those tomorrow and some ideas to help you be more self-realized. Have a good day and remember there is more of you waiting to be expressed.
The Way Of The Heart
Yesterday was a busy day and today will be even more so. Busy days feel good at work because the day goes by faster. I have been thinking a lot since our visit with Maulana on Sunday. His perspective is so right. The goal is to love and to serve others. My work allows me to be of service, to make a difference in people’s lives. My heart work is about loving myself, my wife, my friends, and even those I find difficult to love. There are people and situations in the world that will test my ability to love. That is ok because the more I open my heart to love the better I am as a person and the better the world will be if we all love as much as we can.
There is no limit to love. The Sufi Saint loves everyone of every color and of every belief. His work is to spread love everywhere he goes. Now that is my idea of the kind of work to be involved in, don’t you think? Maybe whatever work we do the job is to spread love to those we work with and those we serve. What do you think? Can you spread love through your work?
I have felt this very pleasant and calm vibration the last couple of days through the energy I picked up with Maulana. I look at his joyous smile in the picture he gave and I smile too. He gave everyone pictures to remind us of the love, joy, mercy, sweetness, unity and peace he spoke about in his vigorous and accented voice. Let yourself love and feel the joy of doing so.
Let your love shine in you
Let your heart be open to give
Let your heart be open to receive
Let your mind clear the way for love
Let you body be a vehicle for love
Let yourself feel free to give
Let yourself be full of compassion
Let yourself be guided by your heart
Let your life by one of kindness
Let your heart find the unity of us all
Let your joy flow from your heart
Let yourself feel the connection to all beings
Let your light shine and spread love
Let your love spread peace everywhere you go
Be Peace, Be Love, Be Joy, Be the Light You Are
My Visit With A Saint
I left a very brief note from my busy Sunday. I said I would write more today. The most significant event of the day was on Sunday morning at a private home here in Boulder. A Sufi saint by the name of Maulana Zainulabedin Kazmi came to town to do a small talk, pray and chant, give lots of small gifts, and provide healing for the body, mind, heart and soul. This joyous loving man was so full of compassion and kindness. All you had to do was being around him to feel the grace of who he was.
I have had the good fortune of spending time with very saintly people in my life. I feel as if the Great Source guides me to be in the presences of these men and women so I can be uplifted. Being with Maulana was very uplifting and inspiring. When I went up to him to tell him what I was working on in my heart, he turned to his assistants and gave me all kinds of pictures, sacred things, chant beads, prayers, and a wonderful smelling shirt he has worn. I was told that what I was given was very special and I felt touched by his deep desire to inspire me toward the further realization of my soul’s purpose. I sit here writing this with those blessing all around me.
I felt in an altered state when I left the gathering. I am full of gratitude for being in his presence even in this moment. The grace I felt then is very present in me now. I also got a clear message that I needed to slow down and meditate more. Just as I have been feeling for a while. I will do so.
I will share more as I understand more about this experience. He is traveling through the U.S. for the next month or so. I encourage you to keep an eye open for his visit near you. Google him and check out his schedule; if you are interested you will find him.
A brief note about the Big 12 Track and Field Championships, this event was so much fun to watch all these amazing athletes. The grace, power and speed of these young men and women was very inspiring. So many performed with such excellence. The University of Colorado Men won the conference championship because they are very strong especially in the distance races. It was a joy to watch.
Have a wonderful week and I will be back tomorrow to share more.
Late Sunday Check in
Where did this day go.
I went for a bike ride, made a bread pudding, met with a Sufi Saint, Watch CU win the Big 12 Track Championship and attend a coming out party for our friend Liz's new amazing Insight Speaker Series.
I will write more about today, tomorrow. It is late, I am tired and Monday seems like just a few hours away.
Let The Feelings Be
Take some time today to tune in and get a sense of how you are feeling. In my work as a therapist, the biggest issue for most people is that they do not acknowledge how they feel. It is so easy sometimes to just go forward and ignore our dissatisfaction, anger, sadness, doubt, disappointment and even our positive emotions. We ignore emotions because it seems easier than paying attention to them. After all, pay attention to how we feel might be uncomfortable.
One of the clients I have been working with is afraid of both positive and negative emotions. He thinks that if he feels anything it will unlock all that is knotted up inside. The fear is one of almost self-annihilation. This is an example of ignoring emotions so much that the fear of them takes him over and runs his life.
Emotions are your and my friend.
We feel because we are alive.
We feel because we have a body.
We feel because we have a heart.
We feel because we have thoughts.
We feel because we respond to the world around us.
We feel as a way to let us know if we are on track or off.
We feel because we breathe and are filled with life.
All emotions come and go on their own.
You don’t have to change how you feel.
The best thing to do is to acknowledge what you feel and let it be. You may want to adjust you life from the emotional feedback you get if you want to be happy. Isn’t the goal of life to feel love and joy? Your emotions can guide you to that kind of life.
In a simple way, all you have to do is follow the ways of your heart and welcome the joy that comes with that.
So take time today to feel. Check out the feeling list below in one of my recent blogs. Feelings are always good for you because none of them are bad. They are simply feedback. I want to repeat, no feelings are bad. They may be uncomfortable but that just tells you to make the necessary adjustments in your life.
Feelings are wonderful gifts.
Just let them be and feel how alive you can feel. Have a fun day full of life.
Untapped Potential In Waiting
It is Friday and the workweek for most is heading towards a few days off. I enjoy my job but I especially enjoy the days I have freedom to create what I want. This weekend there is another college graduation so my wife and I will go to her niece’s party. There is also a Big 12 Conference Track Championship Friday through Sunday here in Boulder. Track meets are fun because there is so much action going on and such amazing athletic performances. In my younger days I raced in the mile, 5k and 10k races. I loved being fit enough to run fast.
The really neat thing about an event like this is I get to watch human beings perform their best in competition with others also trying to be at their best. Competition in athletics especially in individual events is a great way to explore potential. Each of us has vast resources of potential that we rarely fully explore.
What potential in you is waiting to be explored and expressed? You can have unexpressed physical potential, mental and intelligence potential, emotional potential, and the potential of your soul waiting to be explored. The following are some ways to tap into the reserves of possibilities waiting in you to be realized:
• Every day listen to your intuition and be guided by your inner knowing
• Follow the call of your heart because it guides you towards ways to express love, kindness and compassion
• Pay attention to the messages from the body that want to tell you which direction to take in life
• Let your emotions guide you, when it feels right it is right
• Be guided by the callings of your purpose and your soul
• Let your thoughts be tuned into your higher knowing
• Find the inner stillness that waits to show you the way
• Listen to your desires because they are calling you to be more
• Be open to the guidance of others and the universe
• Follow what makes you feel alive and inspired
• See what you are good at, what comes easily to you
• Go down the path of least resistance toward what comes naturally
• Follow your urge to be creative as a way to express who you are
• Remember what you came here to be and do
• If your heart is open and you feel joy than you are on the right track
In each of us is unlimited potential waiting to be realized. What calls in you to be expressed?
No Golf For The Troops
If there has been a more disastrous presidency then George W. Bush’s, I don’t know which it would be. Recently Bush stated that he gave up golf for the troops. Over 4000 troops gave up their lives and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis lost theirs over a war that should never have happened. All of this terrible war happened because of the politically driven mad men in the White House. This war was about ego, power and greed not about Democracy for Iraq.
Keith Olbermann is one of the few journalist who has shown the guts to question those in power and especially this sad little man who put his clubs away is some kind of meaningless gesture. I suspect he quit play golf because he was terrible at that too. Checkout Olbermann’s blast of Bush at the HuffingtonPost.com.
What this country needs now is a leader who is the opposite of Bush. We need a leader who is intelligent, has ethics and higher values, cares about human life, cares about the people, wants to make this country better, is compassionate to the suffering of others, and can actually lift up the nation. As far as I can tell that leader would be Barack Obama.
The job Obama will inherit will be in incredible disarray with a nation feeling upset and off course. It will take all of us to lift this nation up. I don’t doubt we have the capacity to do so. Together we can end the war; bring healing to all those who suffer needlessly; bring the needs of the people to the top of the agenda; clean up the influence of those who use money to have power; and put a heart back in government. Yes we are all up to this task and together we need to find the inner resources necessary to help guide our nation back to greatness.
Feel the urge to realize your own greatness, to help encourage that in other, to be more of who you know you are inside. That is the call, you and I who were born to live at this time, must open to hear. That is the call of potential, of possibilities, of heart and of your soul. Are you feeling yourself getting ready for this mission? The time is near and the task is large and you and I have what it takes to be what is needed. Let peace, compassion, wisdom and heart join together for the good of all.