Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life

Years ago I read some books that talked about how important your imagination is when it comes to creating the world around you. First off, it seemed a little far fetched to believe that you can just imagine something into being. If so, then I would ask why are so many people struggling through life when all they had to do was sit back and imagine a better life for themselves. I tried imagining and at first nothing showed up. At least not in my time frame. I found that the Universe has its own time frame and ways of granting wishes. I had a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro and I imagined myself owning a new engine which my old car desperately needed. About six months later, I was involved in car accident which sent me to the hospital. The other driver's insurance paid for my medical bills and for pain and suffering which just happened to cover the cost of a new engine, have it installed with a little left over. Was this a random coincidence or does the Universe grant us our wishes?

The Experience

The Experience

I remember years ago about the story of a farmer and his son who had a horse. A storm rolled through the farm one early morning just before sunrise with gale force winds blowing with the fury of a tornado, toppling old trees to the ground along with ravishing the farmer’s crops. A few hours later the sun reappeared and the farmer peeked out of his house surveying the damage. He could salvage some of his corn and those fallen oaks would make some good firewood for the upcoming winter. The chickens and cows sensing the worse was over slowly ambled outside in search of food reassuring the farmer that his family and livestock were safe.

            “Looks like we are in for a long day.” The farmer said to his son who was now beside him.

            “Mom has breakfast on the table.” His son replied.

While Jake’s mom was washing the dishes she stared out toward the fence.

            “Honey, you have a some boards down on the eastern side near the stream.” She said, “and I don’t see Daisy.”

            “What?” Replied the Farmer, “Daisy is missing?”

            “Why does everything always go wrong with us?” Emma sighed.

            “I don’t know what you mean.” Said the Farmer.

            The next day, the Farmer and his son combed the fenced-in field for hours only to find that Daisy had in-deed left the pasture through downed boards.

                        “Son, you must take some rope and find Daisy. I would go with you, but I have lots of work to do if we are to survive the upcoming winter.”

            Hands on the ropes with a backpack full of supplies, his son took off toward the stream in search of Daisy. The Farmer worked into the night repairing the fence, chopping firewood from the big fallen oaks and ever so often peering over the now repaired fence in hopes to see his son. The next morning the farmer walked into the kitchen where he could smell bacon cooking on the stove from one of his pigs he slaughtered only a few days ago.

            “Hon. Is Jake back, yet?”

She shook her head as she flipped an egg over noticing it starting to harden. “Shouldn’t you go looking for our son?”

            “And who is going to finish the chores today? I am behind as it is.” The Farmer replied and turned to his wife, “I will go in to town this morning and see if anyone has seen him.”

            The next morning, the farmer awoke a little earlier than normal. He couldn’t get his mind off of where his son might be. “If Jake isn’t home by tomorrow, I will organize a search party and we will find him.” He said to himself.

            The hot July day was closing in on the afternoon when the farmer heard some noise coming up the dirt road. It was the townspeople. “We’ve heard from Jake.” One of them shouted over the crowd. “He should be hear any minute.”

            The farmer waited patiently and talked to his neighbors about the storm and such when they saw a herd of wild Mustangs being led toward the Southern fence. As the horses closed in on the farm, the farmer recognized his son.

            “Jake! What are you doing?” He shouted.

            Jake opened the south passage gate and unleashed the ten horses into the pasture.

            “I found Daisy’s tracks and they led me to these Mustangs. It took me a few days to finally corral them, but now we can train and sell them. With the money we’ll make should more than pay for the damage to the farm.

            “How fortunate we are to have all of these horses to help us in our time of need.” Emma said to her husband.

            “Maybe, maybe not.” The Farmer replied as his wife gave him a curious look.

            The weeks flew by and finally Jake was breaking the last of the wild Mustangs when Jake saw Suzy walking up the path to greet him.  With Jakes head turned toward his sweetheart was when the horse bucked throwing Jake into the now repaired fence. Suzy ran toward the corral as fast as she could.

            “Are you okay?”

            “Ohhh.” Jake screamed. “I think I broke my leg.”

            “Oh no. I am so sorry that I distracted you.”

            “There is no fault to place here.” The Farmer said as he neared his son.

            As the doctor was plastering a homemade cast to Jakes leg, some of the townspeople dropped by to help him to the wagon.

            “That’s very unfortunate to break your leg. You will be a burden to your family.”

Jake looked at that man and remembered what his dad would say at this point.

            “Maybe, but then maybe not.”

            The man gave Jake a stern look, shook his head and walked off mumbling something about kids having it too easy these days.

            One late afternoon in November, the Farmer saw some men on horseback riding up the trail heading directly toward the Farmer’s house. Before they dismounted, the Farmer opened the door.

            “Can I be of service?”

            The lead rider was wearing a uniform with a broadsword by his side. He dismounted and walked up to the porch.

            “No, but your son can be?”

            “My son?”

            “Yes. Your King has order an attack on the land that lies to our west. It has been rumored that the people of Landover have gold and such that our King desires. We have come to conscript your son into His Majesty’s army.” As soon as the words left the soldiers mouth he saw Jake making his way toward the door with crutches in hand.

            “Hummph…” Came the Generals reply. “Do have any other sons?”

            “No.”

            “This one will do us no good.” The General said as he mounted his horse. The Farmer’s wife hugged her son.

            “That was fortunate.” She said.

            Jake and his father turned toward each other and smiled.

Why is it that we judge events in our lives as good and bad? And who decided which events are truly righteous and which ones are evil? Did we decide through rational thought? Acquiring as much information about both sides of the issue or event and then coming to a conclusion based on our best guess? Hardly, many times we are told what to believe and who is right and who is wrong. History is and always will be written by the victorious. Those who lose the fight will always be remembered as the evil ones.

What is gained by being right? What is lost by being wrong? Have you ever really thought about it? We spend so much time and effort to be right. I have had people lie about what they have done in order to prove themselves right. They will tell me one thing and when it turns out untrue, they reply, “I never said that.” Did they intentionally lie? I don’t think so. I think at times we parrot what we’ve been told through the media, or from friends. We are constantly looking for guidance outside ourselves. When they give us inaccurate information we don’t remember repeating the same. So when confronted by our mistakes, it doesn’t feel like we could have come up with that statement, because we didn’t. How many can freely admit making a mistake? The words “I’m sorry” tend to announce to the world that being sorry is some how equated to being weak. Like a man wearing a pink knit shirt, or even being bold enough to don a pink tie when going to work. These are recognized as signs of weakness, in other words the color pink is feminine. That’s ridiculous, pink is nothing more than a color. It has no statement of what it is then gray, white, black, blue, green or any other color for that matter.

95% of the scientist today have stated that Global Warming is real and needs to be addressed. 95%! That’s as close to 100% as we’ll ever get. The 5%? Who knows? However, one of the 5% stated that Global Warming is nothing but normal climate change and is not an issue at all. I have a friend on Facebook who brought that up and pooh poohed the whole Global Warming issue. He didn’t like the fact that Global Warming may impact his lifestyle, so he looks for reasons to dismiss the danger. That is what can get us into a lot of hot water so to speak. Humans have a strong tendency to reinforce their beliefs even in the face of compelling evidence to the contrary. With the advent of so much unchecked information flowing though out the world, it is easy to find someone of perceived importance to agree with your outlook. When the storm passed through the Farmer’s land, he didn’t sit around and decide whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. He just recognized the problem and made the necessary corrections. Fix the fence and send the son out to find Daisy, while the townspeople spent their time and energy complaining about the situation instead of coming up with ideas to address the problem. Are we that different than those folks long ago? When faced with adversity, do we instantly judge it to be good, bad, righteous or evil? Or do we allay our judgments and focus on what to do next. And who is to say that something is good or bad? Who has the insight and the wisdom to see the long range effects? We hear about the fiscal cliff and all the bantering in Washington about taxes. Everyone worries that we might go into another recession. If we do, we do. The smart man hopes for the best and prepares for the worse. I’ve always heard a saying that the difference between recession and depression is a recession is when your neighbor loses his job, a depression is when you lose yours.

Sure, it stings to lose ones income because we have so much riding on our jobs. We have the mortgage, the car payments, pay TV, Iphones, Ipads, Smartphones, Credit Card bills, Maybe losing your job is a good thing. Ever think about that? You should, even if you haven’t lost your job. Do you own your things or do they own you? Can you walk away and start over again? Sure you can, and who knows, you may discover talents and new way of making a living that you never thought possible. I used to be a pharmaceutical representative and the pay and benefits were good, but the pressure of selling was unbearable. I sacrificed living happy in the now, for fear of losing my things. No matter how well I did, it was never enough for the taskmaster. He constantly beat me with his verbal whip until one day I finally just quit and took a different path. It was scary at first and it was the first time I was willing to give it all up and start over again. It is when you release your death grip on your stuff is when you are free to live. Really live without all those worries.

Think of this, picture yourself on an asteroid and that big rock is heading directly toward the Sun. Now it’s going to take quite a few years before it burns up in the Sun, but it will. Now you have two options, the first is you can spend your time worrying about your impending doom, or you can enjoy the time you have before impact. Most folks would say, well I can’t do anything about what is going to happen to this big piece of dirt so I might as well enjoy the time allotted.

We are all on our own personal asteroid and our fate will end up just the same. Are you spending your time worrying? Or living? It’s your choice and it always has been. The world has a whole long list of things to worry about, all you have to do is choose your flavor.

Like the farmer, we need to take step back and do what we can and allow what happens happen. Maybe Global Warming is a good thing, maybe it can teach us to take better care of our planet going forward. Push us toward greener renewable energy solutions instead of pushing out coal and fossil fuel usage until exhausted. It may require some sacrifices and they may be a good thing also. We may have to start planting our own gardens, or walking more and driving less. Doctors say the best medicine is walking. In other words, it’s time to look for the silver lining in those clouds of doom and most of all to enjoy the experience. The experience that life has to offer. Out of all the millions, billions of people that share this planet, there is only one you. You are unique. You have special talents and ways about you that no one has or ever will have. Your body is the only one that looks like it does, no one else has one exactly like yours. You have choice to bringing happiness or sadness to the experience. What do you choose? Your personal rock is heading toward the Sun, do you worry about the cracks in the rock, the increasing heat or do spend your time knowing that there is an ending in some distance future and because of that, you understand that life is precious and each day that passes cannot be retrieved. So live your live by your standards, and more importantly experience all this world has to offer. It is yours for the taking. 

The 5 Truths -

Truth #1 - We are not separated from our creator. We are Co-Creators.
         That is right! When God made the Heavens and the Earth, he looked around and said it was good. Isn't that all we need to know? Most of us are constantly making judgments about our own unique version of right and wrong, Good and Bad. I saw on television when America was bombing Iraq and the people were praying for God's wraith against the Westerners. I don't think God takes sides. When we start to tell other people how they should live and/or force them to live the way we think they should, be careful. Be very very careful. You see, when you are in an authoritative position to the point where you can force people to live your way because (of course) your way is the best way (otherwise you wouldn't live like that) then you open yourself up to having someone else tell you how to live. That's right. I have heard for years about the banishment of prayers in school. They say that it should be brought back, but which religion? When I ask, I get a look of confusion. "Christianity of course," is the usual reply. "What about the other religions?" I usually ask followed with, "Would you be okay, if the school taught your child about praying to Allah? Shiva? Buddha? An atheist prayer, maybe?" Be careful of what you ask others to do, because in asking or forcing you are compromising what you can do. Take the rights away from some, will easily come back to you losing some of your rights. Nazi Germany learned this lesson the hard way. They tortured and killed those practicing Judaism, because they were different. Then they decided that the rest of the world should act and believe in the  concepts and beliefs held by the Third Reich. In forcing others to bend to their will eventually caused them to be forced to bend to the will of others.

The best thing we can do when encountering people of different beliefs and values is to listen to why they think the way they do. You just might learn something that could help you as you traverse this path we call life.

Once we realize that we are all Co-Creators and all a part of the Divine Mind is when we learn to forgive others and not judge them for the acts they commit. We sometimes must put an end to those acts, (like Nazi Germany) but not at the risk of thinking of them as bad or evil. Maybe misguided and in need of behavior correction, but that must be the last resort if we want to insure our freedom to live the life we dare to imagine.

Discuss or Argue? Keeping Perspective.

I had a very interesting discussion the other day with some old friends of mine. We talked a few minutes about the recent sporting event and who won. Soon our discussion moved from sports to politics, like who would win the next election and of course some of the recently enacted policies, the economic impact, etc. My friends quickly became impassioned about their beliefs and the discussion moved from a gentle exchange of information to one of I’m right and you’re wrong. As they were chastising me for my obviously incorrect ways of thinking, I remembered what my father told me years ago:

 “Barry, never discuss politics or religion.”

This PodCast is not about politics or religion, but about how we settle our differences, be it political, social, religious or otherwise.

Let’s first take a good look at the differences between a Discussion and an Argument. To me, a Discussion is the free flowing exchange of ideas and information concerning an issue with a common goal of learning.

An Argument on the other hand is one sides attempt to force his or her beliefs and values of right and wrong upon another.

There are different phases or levels when you leave the Discussion and enter into the Argument phase. Let’s start with the first one:

• Your opponent insists that he is right and that you are wrong.

1. No one is always right in any topic. There is just too much information available. In fact, if you were to spend an entire lifetime researching one area of life, you will be wrong on certain issues. You have to be, because even if you were right back then, things are continually changing and what once was right yesterday could easily be wrong today. Years ago everyone told us that eating eggs were bad for us. Remember? Before that the experts told us that the Sun’s rays were bad and we should cover up completely, now they say we need at least some of the sun’s rays and maybe an egg or two to be healthy.
2. If you find that your opponent does not grant you credit or acquiesce to any of your statements, you have probably entered the first stage of a no-win argument.

     Stage 2 - Emotions start to run high

1. When the screaming starts and the fists hit the table you have entered stage two of a no-win argument. At this point, your opponent has all but exhausted his reasons of why you should think his way. Whenever you bring up a new reason that chips away at his “written-in-stone” point of view, he takes it as a verbal assault and not an invitation for more information on why he thinks the way he does. His usual response at this point is to continue to bring up old responses and that frustrates him because that is all he has left. Arguments generally gain traction when some or both people have strong beliefs that each has all the facts. Discussions on the other hand are when each individual recognizes that they do not have all the facts. Once you experience raised voices, it’s probably a good time to start your exit strategy which I will talk about in few minutes.

• Stage – 3  He questions the validity of your Sources but never his.

1. If you haven’t run yet, then you are in for a very uphill battle. Arguments are not about learning, they are about winning. If who you are arguing quotes from his sources, but ignores yours, he is only interested in beating you down until you accept his way as right and yours as wrong. You could quote directly for God Almighty and he would dismiss it. Usually what has happened is we tend to pigeon hole ourselves around what we want to believe. We tend toward listening to others who reinforce our points of view and with so much access to media coverage it isn’t that hard to do. I had a friend mine who once told me which television and radio stations I should watch and which ones I should avoid because of their social and political implications. This is the prime reason of Argumentation, the avoidance of listening to views that contradict your own. At this point all knowledge and learning cease, only frustration increases as you get angrier and angrier because everyone doesn’t see things correctly or more likely like you see them. 

•    Stage – 4  Repetition reinforces erroneous beliefs over the facts.

a.      The final stage of the Argument is when you hear your opponent repeat over and over again what he has said before. Whether or not you have challenged his statement makes no difference to the arguer. He has probably heard what he is saying multiple times and has come to believe it as fact. Had he researched it and came to a logical conclusion of why he has come to believe the way he does, he would only have to say it once, handle any objection and move on. But the one who repeatedly states an old belief does it because that is how he came to believe it. Repetition is dangerous, if you aren’t aware of it, you could fall into the same trap.

b. When you start to hear the same statements from different people, be careful not to let that sway your thinking. We all want to be accepted by our peers and friends, but not to the extent that we adopt our beliefs based on nothing but repetition. 

How to extricate yourself from a No-Win Argument.

·        Okay, you have noticed that he has not relinquished control on being right about everything. You are starting to get the feeling that you have entered stage one of the no-win argument scenario. It is a fine line at this point, because maybe he has some very valid facts that you were unaware of. He could be right and you could be incorrect in your assessment of the situation. So you could still be in the discussion phase, but then he becomes angry and his voice just got two octaves higher. Now you see that the discussion has turned from a friendly disagreement into a full-fledged argument and some how you have gotten yourself in the midst of it all. Your opponent has just finished implying how wrong and stupid you are, by calling you a Pollyanna or maybe a Cynic. You are getting mad and you are now going to show him who is stupid, but before you crawl into the mud pit with him. Take a breath and say to yourself. Okay, he isn’t going to listen to what I have to say. We have already moved past the “I’m right and you are wrong stage.” He is now trying to manipulate me into subservience by hurling verbal assaults. He basically saying, “You don’t want to appear dumb by arguing with me, now do you?’

a.      Take a step back. Think about what is going on. His ego is in full control at this point - and you know that one thing about people’s emotions is that they are contagious. When you meet someone in a good mood it usually makes you a little happier than before. If you encounter an uncontrolled ego, then your ego will rise to the occasion. “Oh yeah, think your smarter then me? Just watch this!”  Once you have been insulted, remember that it’s his fragile ego defending its weak point of view. This is probably the most important thing I am going to say. You have won at this point. Anything you say afterwards only weakens you and will more than likely drag you further down in to playing another round of the no-win argument game. You may find yourself throwing a few verbal insults his way and if he walks away then you’ve lost and later you’ll regret your impulsive behavior. Do, As you walk away from his verbal attacks, he will more than likely follow you in a feeble attempt to continue the argument. Don’t indulge him, if he makes more snide remarks or points, reply with maybe so and then keep walking. If he tries again, don’t do it. Finish by saying, “Your point is well taken.” Or “Yes I have heard what you said.”

• Well, you haven’t walked away yet and now he is telling you that what you have read and heard is all wrong and his sources are correct. You try using logic at this point and it falls on deaf ears or worse, he picks it apart, changes the meaning to the statement and turns it around in an effort to make you feel foolish and ignorant. You still want to prove your point and that is what is going to keep you in the no-win Argument game. The need to be right. Being right is highly prized in today's world. It started in School, if you answered correctly you were rewarded with grades and praises. If made the right decisions then you could improve your living standards and the respect of your friends and co-workers. So being right has a lot of history and no one wants to be wrong, why because that is associated with losing and no one wants to lose.
1. Remember -Opinions are just that – they are neither wrong nor right. They are just your conception of the limited facts available to you at this point in time. All you are expressing is an opinion. If your opponent chooses not to agree with your logic, your sources, your statement of facts that is his right. No matter what you think about what he believes, he has the same right to his beliefs as you have the same right to your beliefs. Be careful of thinking that what you believe is the right way. Most of the human tragedy that man has witnessed throughout history is due to that kind of thinking. Once you no longer have to prove to your opponent that you are right, you have taken all of your “skin-out-of-the-game” so to speak. With nothing invested, it makes it easier to leave, even if you are arguing in the minority, say you are being ganged up on because your believes differ from the crowd you are in. Is so ask these questions:

                                                               i.      Are they just repeating each others statements?

1.      If so, then you know their beliefs are probable the result of mindless repetition from someone or something.

                                                             ii.      Why is it so important for them to change my view?

1.      No one goes around at night and tells everyone that Sun is coming up tomorrow. We all know that to be true. If some says that the Sun will not come up tomorrow, do we try and convince them otherwise? No. Only if we are not sure of what we think is true do we try to strengthen it in numbers.

My father’s advice about not discussing politics and religion may not be such a bad idea after all, but I say do not argue politics or religion, because maybe I might learn something if I can discuss with it with others now and again.

Thank you,

26 Steps to a more Awakened life.

26 steps to a more awakened life

Beginnings - The first rule in mentally creating a better life for yourself is patience. Once you hold a thought of what you want in your mind, you must give the Universe a chance to bring it into your life. If you grow impatient and give up on your visualizations, then mixed messages are sent out, and God only knows what will come your way. Trust in the Universe to deliver what you’ve asked for.

Givings - The next thing to do in order to achieve a happier, more fulfilling life comes from being of service to others. The giving of yourself to the Universe through others creates an energy of giving. This energy of giving to the Universe will always come back to you. For every action, there is an opposite, but equal reaction. The more that people like Steven Cooper gives, the more you’ll receive. You don’t have to have a near death experience like Steven to unlock that kind potential. The best way to help yourself is through helping others.

Accepting - In order to bring about the kind life you want to live you need to accept that there are forces that you presently do not understand. Mom’s tumor disappeared almost magically. Whatever created it in her body, removed it. There was a reason for both events. The doctors were dumbfounded by what happened, because they live in a world of cause and effect. They have no room to think that events can occur without their involvement. The disappearance of the tumor could have been a lesson for Mom or for her doctors. We don’t really know for whom, but we do know that miracles do happen. The next step in creating a better life for yourself is believing that “miracles” really do occur everyday. Anyone who has witnessed a child being born knows what I’m talking about. Open yourself up to accepting that your life is a miracle, and that there are other miracles surrounding you every minute of everyday. Once you release your control on life, you’ll then be able to witness miracles of all types.

Relating - People act in strange ways at times. Once you find that you can create your reality, you may be tempted to visualize other people doing what you want them to do. This is not only a waste of time, but is unreasonable to do so. Each individual has his own unique power that he possesses. To increase the spirituality within yourself, means that you have to see the spirit in others. As you see each person as a part of God and realize that they are playing their part, then you can see yourself as a part of God playing your own unique part. This understanding will help bring about numerous gifts from the universe.

Unite - Many of the organized religions of today focus on mankind as being totally separate from God. The worshippers are told that they are not worthy to go to heaven when they die unless the do certain tasks. Tithing to the church and asking for forgiveness are the two primary roles required by many of the major religions of the day. If you believe that are separate from God, then you are giving up your God given powers. Whatever you believe becomes true for you. It is vital for you to understand that you are a part of the Godforce, and what God can do, you can do also. This understanding is what makes creative visualization possible. 

Realize - As you become more aware of yourself and your surroundings, you will begin to take less and less things in your life for granted. You will begin to realize that dreams are not just something that randomly happens to you, but it is an integral part in the way knowledge is passed to you. The more you listen to your dreams, the more information it will provide. This awareness becomes more and more valuable in your spiritual journey. Understanding that dreams are an important function in your life is one of the first steps to the realization that you are a multi-dimensional being.

Appearances - Look pass what your limited senses tell you to be true.  We are nothing but energy that has an appearance of solid matter. Your body is changing every single day. As you come to believe that you are more than just flesh and bones, you start to tap into the universal energy and that is when you can create miracles, or at least that is what some will call it. But by then, you’ll know they aren’t miracles at all, but just energy in a different form.

Circumstances - Nothing happens by accident. There is always an underlying cause to situations that comes up in one’s life, either good or bad. We decide at that moment how we are going to handle each situation. Positive, negative or pure avoidance are our choices. The way we handle life’s challenges tells us who we are if we just take the time to listen. Maybe this is why we keep getting ourselves into such dire circumstances.

Synchonicity - As you grow spiritually, you’ll notice a strange phenomenon continue to occur again and again all around you Carl Jung coined as synchronicity. You will start experiencing more and more coincidences. Other people close to you will start to notice how things seem to happen to you. As you grow spiritually, you will see things come into your life at certain times. A good example is: You’ll think of a long lost friend, and the next day you’ll get a telephone call from her or you’ll stop your car at a green light only to see another car race through a red. You won’t understand what’s happening, because it doesn’t follow the rules that you’ve been brought up believing. What’s happening is you’re beginning to tap into your higher self; the Godsource where we all came from.

Life Station - What radio life station do you listen to? There are many life stations playing all around the world. You can choose to listen to the ones playing the everyone’s out to cheat me station or I’m always being taken advantage of radio life station. Or you can opt for the “I am part of the Godforce radio life station, and I am responsible for the world that I create.” People like Angie have been around forever, but I had to be spiritually advanced enough to listen, and understand what she had to say. To move ahead spiritually, you need to tune-in to the radio life stations that are out there to help you. You’ll find them when you’re ready to listen to what they have to say.

Choices - To climb a ladder, the foot must give up the security of the rung it’s presently standing in order to reach the next rung. In order to create a life that we want requires us to give the safety and security connected to the life that we don’t want. As you grow in spirit, you will notice that what pleased you in the past might not have the same effect in the present. You may lose some old friends, but fear not, for it is the only way to make room for new ones. You will be drawn to those that will rejoice in your new spiritual quest. As your inner self changes to a more awakened way of dealing with life, so will your outer world change.  The “experts” and the media will lose its hold on you, because you know their game and you understand that we all are on our own spiritual path. With this knowledge comes freedom; the freedom to live your life according to your own rules. A set of rules far advanced from those set down by others.

Questioning - Wisdom is the result of questioning ones long held axioms and beliefs. There are a lot of smart people in the world, but how many of them are wise. How many question what they’re being told? Once you cross onto the spiritual path, you’ll end up questioning more and more of what you’ve been told through out your life. As you question and learn, the wisdom will come to you in different ways. Many people will look at you as if you’ve gone off the deep end. If you’re not ready to accept that some of your family and friends may disapprove of your spiritual search, then you may not be ready to make the transition. If you are ready, then you will live a life far happier than you ever thought to be true.

Learning - Everybody you come into contact is your teacher. The question is, are you ready to learn the lessons they have come to teach you. Use your now expanded awareness to learn from what others have to offer. It can come as a life-changing event, or it could be something as simple as I use to hate people who act like “that” but now I see that they are struggling to understand their world, and if I had walked in their shoes; would I act any differently?

Planting - Accepting Karma is accepting the continuity of life. Life is an ever widening circle. As we learn our lessons in this lifetime, it prepares us for a better lifetime in the future. The seeds you sow today will bear fruit tomorrow. What type of seeds you sow will determine the type of fruit.

Consuming - The mind and the body are interlinked. A healthy mind cannot be maintained in an abused body. An abused body cannot support a healthy mind. In order to maintain such an excellent physical body (we have been given) requires feeding it unadulterated foods, along with adequate exercise and rest. In order to keep a healthy mind requires feeding it understanding and compassion. Our fast fried genetically modified foods; damage our bodies. The media preying on our ignorance of what is true; damages our minds.

Picturing - Picture in your mind exactly what you want. See yourself in the picture if you want to be associated with the event. The clearer you see the object, the quicker the results. Once you have visualized what you want - let it go. Then wait for the results, because they come on their time, not yours. Be careful however, because many times you will find that what you think you want may not be in your best interest. Use the law of attraction with reverence, this is not a play toy and should be treated with respect.

Evolving - If you find yourself relating to a group of people, and you accept their beliefs as your own without question, then you will end up at the same place that they do. If you find yourself saying things like, “What do expect from me, I’m ____ (fill-in the blank), then you are not living your life according to your rules, but theirs. This form of limiting beliefs will restrict you from experiencing life in all its forms. Freeing yourself from this “group-think” type of mentality is a major step in your souls evolution.

Creating - Sometimes you need a little help bringing about a visualization. Drawing pictures of future events can help solidify its intended results. If your visualizations haven’t been successful, it may be that you have not mentally created a crystal clear image of what you want. Draw the event you want to happen in your life and look at it every day. Sometimes you may need to draw a series of events leading up to the event you desire.

Choices - We choose how to live our lives. Sickness, health, happiness and sadness are our choices and are not random events that occur. We agree to accept that which has come upon us. Make no mistake, you have chosen your life according to your ideals.

Acclimation - If someone is mistreating you, you have no one to blame, but yourself. Ask yourself, what rewards am I receiving that’s causing me to accept so much pain? You might be surprised at the answer. Humans have a unique ability known as acclimation. We will get used to a situation no matter how uncomfortable it becomes as long as it progresses slowly over time. We all know people who treated us well and with respect at first, only to walk all over us as time passes. We endure it due to acclimation. If you are in relationships that is destructive, it could be because you’ve acclimated yourself to that person. You deserve to be treated with respect from everyone you have a relationship. Let go of anyone who uses the process of acclimation to try and break you. To find happiness in life requires work and sometimes the job is difficult.

Appreciation - The things you own will not make you happy. Most of us desire 10% more than what we have. Once we get that extra 10%, we don’t stay happy for long. We want another 10%. This attitude is telling the Universe that you aren’t happy with what you have. That is why you see people who seem to have riches beyond the norm suddenly go broke. They didn’t appreciate what they had, they told God that they aren’t happy with what they own, and so God took away from them. Look at everything you own and give thanks for everything that the world has given you. To create a life of abundance, appreciate everything that comes into your life and give away the things that no longer serve you. Give back to God, so He can refill your cup with more.

Purpose - A boat constantly tied to the dock will quickly become unseaworthy. It was built with one thing in mind; to traverse the oceans. If denied its purpose, it will end up nothing more than useless wood. Our purpose like the boat is to live life to our fullest potential and should we seek to anchor ourselves in the harbor for fear of meeting an ocean wave, we will end up nothing more than pieces of useless timber.

Risking - Today make a promise to yourself to try something different. If you like to cook, create a meal from scratch without looking at a cookbook and serve it to your family. Take a foreign language class, visit some place you’ve never seen, or call someone that you haven’t heard from in years. Force yourself out of your comfort zones. Start small today and gradually build from there. You can’t divide the physical from the mental. If you want to change your thoughts, you must also change your environment. A really good start is to go into every room and gather all the things in the rooms that no longer serve you anymore. I’m not talking about kicking your hubby out, but giving those items to others who may have a need. Getting rid of the physical things that no longer serve you helps you get rid of the mental things that no longer serve you.  Remember, your past thoughts have created your present environment. By changing your environment in concert with your ideals will accelerate the changes that you yearn for.

Communicating - Take a few minutes and write down what you would tell your children about your life if you were to leave them tomorrow, and be totally honest with yourself. Then write down what you would like to be able to tell your children about your life if you were to leave tomorrow. If the two are the same then you are living the life you have endeavored to imagine: if they aren’t, then you still have time to create that kind of life.

Childlike - A mother watching her child playing in the yard doesn’t care if he plays the hero or villain, rich man or poor man. She loves him no matter what. She understands that playing different parts is how he learns. She knows that whatever part he plays today doesn’t matter, because he is only playing. His actions, good or bad will help him understand the world around him and that knowledge will someday be useful as he matures. We are all God’s children and when understanding graces our path, we will finally realize that those who are playing the “bad” guys are only children trying to learn some difficult lessons. Maybe that is why we are told not to judge.

Perceptions - We perceive unfairness everyday. It seems that someone is always getting taken by someone, whether it be a shady deal or a law that protects some while leaving others vulnerable. Unfairness is a judgment made by those who have made up a list of rights and wrongs in their heads. Those on the spiritual path realize that what may appear as unfair in the short-term could very well be a blessing in the long run. When you see an event occur and your first inclination is to jump to a right or wrong type of conclusion, step back and take a breath. Try to see it from a long-term perspective. (Ex. My house just went into foreclosure since I lost my job and I can’t find another one – That’s a short-term  way of thinking. Let’s look at the long-run. Well, I knew this job wouldn’t last and to tell you the truth, I was only there to pick up a paycheck in order to hold on this house that I really couldn’t afford since I refinanced a couple of times. Wow, now I am free of all that debt. I am free of working at a place that I no longer enjoyed. My options on living today are unlimited. What a great thing to have happened to me.

Endings - How is your dash? You know the dash. That little mark on every grave site between the person’s date of birth and death. The dash is your life in between. Is your dash always upset, angry, depressed? Or is it happy and content? Only you can decide how your dash is. But once it’s over, there is no turning back. There is a year out there, a number that is going to be placed on your stone. It is going to be your number, and there is nothing in this world that you can do about it. The only thing you can do is make that dash - a dash worth living for.

What an out of body experience means.

Blessing or Curse? That was something I wondered about for years. The nightly vibrations, the temporary paralysis and the on-going fear caused me to search for answers. Once I understood what was happening to me, came the next phase. Why? Why me? What does it all mean? If you have had any of these experiences then take a breather. You are just experiencing what everyone experiences at the moment of death, with one big exception. You aren't dead, you are alive and have been given a glimpse of what is behind the curtain. So what do we do with that knowledge? Some people chalk it up to lucid dreaming or dismiss it entirely. Why do they do this? Mostly because accepting the fact that you are a unique being in a world that pushes you to conform is too much for some. This experience caused me to challenge all my previous locked down beliefs that I had been taught through life. At first it was difficult, because I went against my families, neighbors and ministers ideas about what I should do and why I am here. Those of you who have had an OOBE now know that your consciousness can survive without the physical body. Wow. Since that is true then worrying about death is not such a big deal now is it? You know that you can survive whether or not your body does. So, is this life kind of like a big vacation for the consciousness to come down and experience the earth? If so, then why not enjoy the time while your here and try and do as many things as you can? My wife and I went to the beach a few years ago with our kids. We met another couple and all they did was complain about the heat, the crowds, and the costs of everything. When I asked them why they were here, they looked at me and said, "it's our vacation!" like I was some slow school boy in the back of the class. I replied, "Why not vacation in the mountains or in a new city?" Their reply was, "This is where we go on vacation." Those people are living through the motions. They may have been happy with the beach experience years ago, but now its not fun anymore. They stay out of fear. The beach isn't fun for them anymore, but they know it's safe and what to expect.
I can't help but wonder if their lives are as structured. You know these people, you may be these people. They complain about the weather, too hot, too cold, too windy, or they hate their work, they talk about getting married to early or disliking their neighborhood.
Your whole existence is nothing but a lifelong vacation. A chance to experience all this world has to offer and you can experience it in any shape or form you want. Maybe my beach friends want to experience frustration and anger this time around and that is fine, but it's the ones who do the same things over and over again because they are afraid to try something new is the biggest tragedy a human being can ever face.
Don't fear having an out of body experience. There is something in this experience that you have set up in an earlier time to give you a sort of "wake-up" call. Do you hear the bell? It's ringing and saying you aren't a drone and it's time to realize that and get living before the final OOBE takes it's turn. Get out of your worker bee mentality. This life is your vacation and it's time to experience all it has to offer. Don't stay at the beach if you are tired of the sand.

"A Journey to Balance - Making Sense of It All"
                      by Barry Brown