Lately I have been wondering how so much harm has been done for so many rationalized reasons (Gulf, Afghanistan, etc.)  War to me is the biggest rationalization of harming and killing others all because of the human ego's need for control.  The list of environmental harm done by companies for profit would be too long to record.  Still harm is rationalized daily at some level by someone who claims to have higher values through their religion, their belief system, their sense of judgment over others etc. How could doing harm to another or the planet be rationalized by someone who actually has an open heart?

Could it be that harm at a global level begins inside of unhealthy people who do themselves harm in the form of inner judgment and harsh self-criticism?  Denial of emotions is another form of harming oneself.  There are also many who abuse their bodies despite knowing what is healthy and what is destructive. 

If self-harm is a strong enough force inside, it would make sense that this self-harm could get spread to harming others.  What kind of person would make it ok inside to harm another?  It would have to be someone who is not ok inside.  We all, at sometime or another, have said or acted in harmful ways.   Human nature is less than perfect but it seems by sometime in our adulthood we could be more conscious and aware of our words and actions.  Another way of viewing harm is to be aware that most harmful words or actions really are self-directed but misfired.

Harm such as war, environmental abuse, greed directed action, abuse of any living thing, ego driven need to control etc. are part of our world yet we may be able to do something about it.  Choose with purpose some organization that is trying to prevent or remedy harm and give of your time, energy, ideas or funds to help break the cycle of harm.  Be kind with your self-talk.  Reach out to others with compassion.  Invite those who are blinded by their actions and words to turn towards more awareness.  Harming self, others or the planet does not every feel ok inside so forgiveness and kindness may be called for to help set a healthier and happier course.

First of all do no harm; then see what good you can do.

PS.  As I read this post I keep thinking about the news and wondering when will higher consciousness be raised enough so that we quit doing all the destructive things we do to each other.  The profit motive has become the guiding force for so many in DC and around the globe, that I feel greatly concerned about the welfare of us who care and attempt to live simply and do no harm.



The Traveler’s Gift by Andy Andrews has been a great find at the local used bookstore.  Check the author out and thank you Andy.  This book is a story with very important lessons in it.  I decide to share the lessons and encourage you to read the interesting story.  Particularly of interest are the famous people who teach the main character about the following decisions:

Decision One – The buck stops here.  This decision is about choosing to take full responsibility for your life including: your past, your future, your thoughts, decisions, actions, emotions, body and spirit.  You create your experience so remember and respect that.  Now you must take charge of your life to make things happen as you desire.

Decision Two – I will seek wisdom.  This decision is about choosing to design your future by exploring ways to act wisely and with more awareness.  Seek the counsel of those who know, have friends that lift you up, and learn through by being compassionate and kind.

Decision Three – I am a person of action.  This decision is about choosing to: take action with energy; lead by inspiring others; make courageous decisions; and do so in the now when important decisions lead to powerful actions. 

Decision Four – I have a decided heart.  I wrote about this decision recently here at my blog.  The key points of this decision are: chose to be passionate about your vision for your life and set a clear course to make it happen.

Decision Five – Today I choose to be happy.  This decision is about choosing to enjoy life, laugh often, be enthusiastic, smile at everyone you meet and live in deep appreciation and gratitude for the life you are blessed to have.

Decision Six – I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit.  This decision is choosing to forgive.  This forgiveness is toward yourself and anyone who you have felt mistreated by.  Forgiveness allows you to release the past and be more present to yourself and those around you.

Decision Seven – I will persist without exception.  This decision is about choosing to utilize your inner drive to create successful results.  There is no quit if you have faith: in you, your purpose and the universe’s capacity to manifest whatever is clearly intended.

Pick this book (also CD and DVD) up at your local bookstore or at Amazon and learn the stories behind these lessons and you will feel it was time well spent for enriching your life.



A close friend of my wife and I sent a note on Facebook and asked about finding passion and my fingers jumped into action from the wisdom of my heart and my intuition.  This is what I wrote and it comes from the creative flow of passion in me.

“Finding your passion is a process of being more conscious and aware of who you are at a deeper level.  It comes when you learn to listen inward, follow the guidance of your intuition, pay attention to what makes you feel alive and listen to the wisdom of your heart.  These ideas although they may seem trite are not.

Passion is only known from a search inward.  You have a specific passion/purpose that is unique to you and only you.  There inside the quiet moments of your life resides the beauty of your uniqueness.  Take time each day to listen inward, which can be in the shower, driving to work in the quiet of your car, a walk under the stars.  Often the inspiration comes not from you planning to find it but from the moment-to-moment awareness of being fully present in your own life.”

As I reread this I thought I wanted to share this here at my blog.  Passion is the juice of life that flows when we are in alignment with our higher nature, our soul’s journey.  To live with passion is to go fully into life with the intention of doing so with lots of energy, attention to intention and a big dose of fun.

If you lack passion then take the time to find it: beyond the busy mind; deeper into the flow of the heart; and expanding aliveness that comes from doing what you clearly desire to do.  This is desire is beyond right or wrong because it exists as your expression of you which is only magnificence waiting to be expressed. 

Peace and Passion is waiting for you.



It is another warm night and I am snacking on some tasty cherries as I sit down to write my first draft of tomorrow’s (now today’s) blog.  After work I played a round of golf until it was almost dark.  Warm summer nights of golf after a busy day feel like I leave the heaviness of my work behind.

As I write this I am practicing writing without an agenda so that I just go with what inspiration flows through my fingers into my MacBook.  So far the flow is not fully engaged and that is ok because I am ok.  Regularly in working with clients and staff I am struck by how depended we become on the opinion of others. This dependency is as if we need approval of others to feel ok about ourselves?  We do not need anyone’s approval but most of us our highly trained by society to believe that to be ok and happy we need others to give us a thumbs up.

Frankly is that the way we want to live, seeking to be approved of in the eyes of those in our life?  The answer from my perspective as a mental health professional is no, our approval must come from within.  For us truly to feel self-approval we need to do a few things as soon as possible.

First - Spend time getting to know yourself by paying attention to your thoughts and being respectful of your emotions.  All thoughts and feelings are your creation from your mind.  Knowing the interior landscape let’s you know who you are.

Second - Silence your inner critic or at least get it to shut up once in a while.  Most of us are well trained (12 years of Catholic Schools for me) in self-criticism, harsh self-judgment and unkind expectations.  This training was bogus but we still buy into it.

Third – Remember you are a spiritual being having a human experience not the other way around.  Your higher nature is infinitely amazing and unlimited in its capacities to love, to be creative, to find happiness, and to live with purpose and passion.  It is time to stop hanging out and believing your limiting ego-mind.

These three alternative viewpoints from the ones most of us were raised with can greatly enrich your sense of self.  A positive sense of self is very liberating and will make you a joy ot be around.

Your sense of self belongs to you, don’t let anyone have the power to shape how you feel about you.  This is the wise way of being in the world.



"Dialogue disappears when we are burdened with belief systems."  This statement comes from Osho one of my favorite non-conformist spiritual teachers.  When I read this I immediately thought of our political system and why politicians, extremist in religion, and those with big opinion in general can't get along with those who question them.  They cannot get along because there beliefs have closed them down to communicating openly with others.  Think Washington DC and the gridlock of inflexible beliefs that run so many who seem unable to look past their rigid points of view. 

Over the last month or so I have kept my social critic in check because I don't like to focus on what isn't working.  There are some things that have to be questioned so that reality wins out over the blinding beliefs of others.  Here are a few obvious blindspots at the top of my list. 

The GOP refuses to support extending the unemployment benefits and yet they want to continue the tax cuts for the very wealthy.  This seems like the working of minds stuck in a belief system that does not work for 95% of the people.  It is confusing that many don’t question it even thought this trickle down economics has been thoroughly tried and failed over the last 10-15 years.  The GOP actually want the economy to fail no matter how many it hurts so they can get back into the White House.  This ignorance of beliefs blocks dialogue that can help all of us.

Mr. Limbaugh is sounding more like a KKK member in his attacks on the President, George Steinbrenner and others.  He seems to not be concerned about facts because his point of view is skewed by anger, hate, fear and a hugely inflated ego.  Why would people listen to him unless they were locked up by their own thinking? 

The US Chamber of Commerce has their solution to the economic crisis.  They want to deregulate, cut taxes and social security, drill more oil offshore, privatize roads and cut down our national forests.  Who do they represent, the needs of the people or the greed of the corporations?  Yet masses of people sheepishly will follow these ideas because their minds ignore the facts and instead follow unquestioned beliefs.

The Tea Party links President Obama to Lenin and Hitler and calls them all socialists.  There seems to be a misfire of the brain going on here.  Obama is far from a socialist in any definition.  Lenin was a communist, which is a political system and not a socialist which is an economic system.  Hitler was a fascist and had nothing to do with socialism.  This party is all plugged up in their mixing facts with their belief system.  

The Birther’s can look directly at a copy of President Obama’s birth certificate and still not see the reality of it because they are blinded by their beliefs and run by their emotions all charged by faulty thinking.  Religious beliefs have the same blindness driven by the condemnation of those who believe differently.

It is scary to me that even very intelligent people follow blindly their beliefs even in the midst of facts that completely question and contradict their thinking.  

The saddest loss of all humanity may be the loss of an open mind.

PS.  I don’t know how come this idea popped into my head: The best form of Ex-lax for the mind is mindfulness.