To conclude this essay on yin-yangs and how this insight can affect your life, we have night and day, hot and cold, good and evil, love and hate, and every duality that exists in nature and in our emotional energies. These opposites all serve a purpose. Knowing this, you have the opportunity to integrate your yin and yang, male and female, dark and light, and experience the fullness of wholeness of who you are! You'll thank yourself.
How Yin-Yangs Are Suppressed
Unfortunately, the reality of yin-yangs are often suppressed, not to be recognized or embraced. Rather than admit it, many people prefer to claim they are not affected by any of these aspects of life. By taking this course of action, they actually end up suppressing the negative belief patterns that are ingrained in their lives.
The Problem
Herein lies the problem: What you deny owns you. So much vital energy is wasted in the automatic suppression of denial. In other words, “Deny it and what you resist will persist.” The same thing happens when you harbor negative thoughts about your circumstances and/or other people.
The Other Way
Likewise, what you accept with grace and gratitude serves to empower you and the abundance of vital energy is your gift.
The irony is that the Whole consists of both dark and light. The ancient symbol of Yin-Yang encompasses all duality and pairs of opposites.
Being your own self is such an empowering experience. I observe the unhappiness of so many people who seem to thrive in this dark arena of life. I've been there and know it has prevented some of the best experiences in my life from happening. You might ask, "Well, if it didn't happen, how do you know it could have been one of the best experiences?" Fair question!
A good example might be the start of a new relationship that really did not “get off the ground”. When this happens, you are haunted by what might have been. This feeling of lost opportunity is akin to grief. There probably isn't a human-being alive that has not experienced this at least once in their life.
When our moods are dark we're likely to experience limitation more often. Ups and downs are a part of life, In gaining perspective of this truth, we are able to eliminate the mood self pity, and jump into the present moment of “here and now”. Then you will discover the joy of living each experience with a sense of brand new wonder and discovery.
Conclusion
Now the opportunity to live the fullest experience in the moment is available. I truly hope you will seize this opportunity, and accept the reality that the beautiful person who looks back at you in the mirror is indeed YOU. Discover who you are; the fullness, the wholeness, the entirety of your true being. It's that blend of being and doing. I'm being me, in the moment, with my mood for company, and am living RIGHT HERE and NOW. My feelings just are; and, in accepting them, I also open myself to a new powerful emotional energy to move in. Life is truly a wonder, our bodies are a wonder, and the experiences are rich. Go for it!
Marvel and mimic those people who are so free, able to dance in the supermarket aisle, to close their eyes on a sunny street in the middle of the day, arms outspread embracing the sun. What limited belief holds you back from being, being all that you are? To be free is to be “you” without any limitations or restrictions. Are you ready? It is your choice.
Refine Your Reality
Spiritual Laws, Quantum Physics, Massive Transformation
Friday, May 6, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Yin-Yangs and You [Part 2 of 3]
Dark Moods of Procrastination
As I sit down to write this article, my mood is dark with rather strong feelings of procrastination and/or lack of motivation. I realize that many of these feelings are supported by the disappointment I am experiencing from last week’s endeavors. In addition, I am also aware that I am allowing myself to be controlled into submission by not wanting to accomplish the mundane tasks that I need to take care of NOW.
Light Moods of Celebration
My life is busy and alive; and, yet, quite settled in other ways. The weekend before last was one of celebration, for no reason, a new adventure with new friends on a camping trip. It is truly invigorating to enjoy the freedom from the noisy stresses of city-life and being one with nature.
This memory changes the direction of my mood. Now, my mood and thoughts are high and clear.
Spring is in the air with cool nights and the lovely panorama of the greening of the new growth is just outside my window. Winter is just a fading memory of its cold icy weather mixed with snow.
Winter Days
The winter days of our moods, though dark and sometimes dreary, is a good time to ponder the new light and life of the approaching spring days filled with sunshine and new growth and the wondrous opportunities that it will bring into our lives.
Do you ever think about all those things you don't like about yourself? Bad habits, behaviors, attitudes you've been told are not nice; so many unhappy experiences that accumulate to make up our dark side. We all have these pockets of dark sides in our personalities which often spill over into our moods
Unfortunately, they are often suppressed, not to be recognized or embraced. Rather than admit it, we would prefer to say we don't suffer from any of these afflictions and suppress the negative aspect.
Conclusion
Herein lies the problem: What you deny owns you. So much vital energy is wasted in the automatic suppression of denial. In other words, “Deny it and what you resist will persist.” The same thing happens when you harbor negative thoughts about your circumstances and/or other people.
Likewise, what you accept with grace and gratitude serves to empower you and the abundance of vital energy is your gift.
As I sit down to write this article, my mood is dark with rather strong feelings of procrastination and/or lack of motivation. I realize that many of these feelings are supported by the disappointment I am experiencing from last week’s endeavors. In addition, I am also aware that I am allowing myself to be controlled into submission by not wanting to accomplish the mundane tasks that I need to take care of NOW.
Light Moods of Celebration
My life is busy and alive; and, yet, quite settled in other ways. The weekend before last was one of celebration, for no reason, a new adventure with new friends on a camping trip. It is truly invigorating to enjoy the freedom from the noisy stresses of city-life and being one with nature.
This memory changes the direction of my mood. Now, my mood and thoughts are high and clear.
Spring is in the air with cool nights and the lovely panorama of the greening of the new growth is just outside my window. Winter is just a fading memory of its cold icy weather mixed with snow.
Winter Days
The winter days of our moods, though dark and sometimes dreary, is a good time to ponder the new light and life of the approaching spring days filled with sunshine and new growth and the wondrous opportunities that it will bring into our lives.
Do you ever think about all those things you don't like about yourself? Bad habits, behaviors, attitudes you've been told are not nice; so many unhappy experiences that accumulate to make up our dark side. We all have these pockets of dark sides in our personalities which often spill over into our moods
Unfortunately, they are often suppressed, not to be recognized or embraced. Rather than admit it, we would prefer to say we don't suffer from any of these afflictions and suppress the negative aspect.
Conclusion
Herein lies the problem: What you deny owns you. So much vital energy is wasted in the automatic suppression of denial. In other words, “Deny it and what you resist will persist.” The same thing happens when you harbor negative thoughts about your circumstances and/or other people.
Likewise, what you accept with grace and gratitude serves to empower you and the abundance of vital energy is your gift.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Yin-Yangs and You [Part 1 of 3]
The ancient symbol of Yin and Yang encompasses all duality and pairs of opposites which are existent in all life. We have night and day, hot and cold, good and evil, love and hate, and every duality that exists in nature and in our emotional energies.
All serve a purpose. If you know this, you have the the secret key to integrate your yin-yangs, male and female, dark and light, and will be more able to experience the fullness of life as well as the wholeness of who you really are!
Repeating Cycles of Yin-Yang
Always remember the dark-side of night [yin] is always followed by the new light [yang] of the dawn of a new day. This cycle is repeated in the seasons of the year. The winter is an essential time of rest for the earth just as the night is a time for rest for us. The winter is followed by spring and the renewal of life just as the new day is the time for us to renew our lives.
Using Force Is Not a Good Solution
We all have our own private dark side. Many of us often suppress this dark side and its resulting feelings and/or emotions because of shame and guilt. We brazenly control this part of our being by forcing our dark side and its feelings and emotions either into submission or into hiding. Like the ostrich, we try to bury our head in the sand.
However, by using force as a strategy to hide our dark side, we ultimately give our dark side the power to control us because we are using our energies negatively.
Do we ever really succeed? The answer is a resounding “NO”. The use of force is not a valid tactic. The use of force only serves to bury your "dark side" even deeper within your sub-conscious while it also disrupts the harmonious flow of your inner peace.
Have you considered the possibility that the dark side of your being has you controlled into submission?
Part 2 of this essay
Come back next week for Part 2 next week to find out how you can avoid being controlled by your “dark side”.
Part 3 of this essay
Part 3 will describe the wondrous rewards you will have when you are free from the control of your emotional “dark side”.
All serve a purpose. If you know this, you have the the secret key to integrate your yin-yangs, male and female, dark and light, and will be more able to experience the fullness of life as well as the wholeness of who you really are!
Repeating Cycles of Yin-Yang
Always remember the dark-side of night [yin] is always followed by the new light [yang] of the dawn of a new day. This cycle is repeated in the seasons of the year. The winter is an essential time of rest for the earth just as the night is a time for rest for us. The winter is followed by spring and the renewal of life just as the new day is the time for us to renew our lives.
Using Force Is Not a Good Solution
We all have our own private dark side. Many of us often suppress this dark side and its resulting feelings and/or emotions because of shame and guilt. We brazenly control this part of our being by forcing our dark side and its feelings and emotions either into submission or into hiding. Like the ostrich, we try to bury our head in the sand.
However, by using force as a strategy to hide our dark side, we ultimately give our dark side the power to control us because we are using our energies negatively.
Do we ever really succeed? The answer is a resounding “NO”. The use of force is not a valid tactic. The use of force only serves to bury your "dark side" even deeper within your sub-conscious while it also disrupts the harmonious flow of your inner peace.
Have you considered the possibility that the dark side of your being has you controlled into submission?
Part 2 of this essay
Come back next week for Part 2 next week to find out how you can avoid being controlled by your “dark side”.
Part 3 of this essay
Part 3 will describe the wondrous rewards you will have when you are free from the control of your emotional “dark side”.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The Ghetto of Mental and Emotional Attitudes
It is very easy to become a victim of mental and emotional attitudes that can have serious ramifications on one’s life. The desires for companionship, love and financial abundance can be hidden traps that lead one into unwanted stress as well as financial difficulty.
There are other pitfalls that effectively imprison one in this ghetto. The longer one is embroiled these negative mental and emotional attitudes, the easier it becomes to accept defeat and just become mentally and emotionally stagnant.
Our commercial system has become very impersonal and cold. It has become a system based on numbers and the law of the 1% to 5% making a purchase predicated on the appeal of the marketer. The greater the exposure the greater your sales will be regardless of the quality of your product.
One can but wonder when the breaking point of this impersonal and cold approach to the commercial enterprise will no longer be effective. It is this author’s feeling that this prevailing business attitude only serves to demoralize the public to a greater degree. And, thus, more people find themselves deeper in their negative mental and emotional attitudes.
This law of numbers also impacts the funding of medical and psychiatric programs as well. It costs less and it is easier and quicker to treat the symptoms of the disorder or disease rather than take the time and make the effort to effectively treat its cause. This is another way people are manipulated and held imprisoned in their mental and emotional attitudes.
Stated another way, it has been reported that many of the rehabilitation programs are designed to “keep the lid on the client’s behavior” rather than providing the support and encouragement they need to return to the mainstream of life. Many so-called advocacy organizations work in the short term, never daring to jeopardize their funding by pursuing the big picture, the their client’s dream.
When one thinks about it, whether going to the doctor’s office, the outpatient clinic, or the psychiatrist’s office, one is surrounded by others with similar disorders. Who was it that said ”Misery loves company.” This is certainly the place for plenty of company.
This becomes a comfortable place of refuge, friendships are made, there’s no challenge, and one will finds over time that they become nervous about venturing into mainstream activities, like interviewing for a job, or going back to their club. The longer one stays here, entrapped inside the ghetto of their negative mental and emotional attitudes, the harder it is to break out. Confidence disappears. People share stories of being victimized and discriminated against and this supports the growing sense that it’s too hard ‘out there’. One concludes they should stay right where they are.
Breaking out of any ghetto, whether it be one of financial poverty or of negative mental and emotional attitudes, takes courage and determination. It begins with accepting the responsibility to change your negative mental and emotional attitudes to ones that are positive. It requires identifying and discarding old beliefs that impede your path to balance and the peace of inner happiness.
You have this power to change your life by changing you mental and emotional attitudes. There are many free tools available on the Internet that will provide you with a good start on this path. Get motivated and take advantage of them.
There are other pitfalls that effectively imprison one in this ghetto. The longer one is embroiled these negative mental and emotional attitudes, the easier it becomes to accept defeat and just become mentally and emotionally stagnant.
Our commercial system has become very impersonal and cold. It has become a system based on numbers and the law of the 1% to 5% making a purchase predicated on the appeal of the marketer. The greater the exposure the greater your sales will be regardless of the quality of your product.
One can but wonder when the breaking point of this impersonal and cold approach to the commercial enterprise will no longer be effective. It is this author’s feeling that this prevailing business attitude only serves to demoralize the public to a greater degree. And, thus, more people find themselves deeper in their negative mental and emotional attitudes.
This law of numbers also impacts the funding of medical and psychiatric programs as well. It costs less and it is easier and quicker to treat the symptoms of the disorder or disease rather than take the time and make the effort to effectively treat its cause. This is another way people are manipulated and held imprisoned in their mental and emotional attitudes.
Stated another way, it has been reported that many of the rehabilitation programs are designed to “keep the lid on the client’s behavior” rather than providing the support and encouragement they need to return to the mainstream of life. Many so-called advocacy organizations work in the short term, never daring to jeopardize their funding by pursuing the big picture, the their client’s dream.
When one thinks about it, whether going to the doctor’s office, the outpatient clinic, or the psychiatrist’s office, one is surrounded by others with similar disorders. Who was it that said ”Misery loves company.” This is certainly the place for plenty of company.
This becomes a comfortable place of refuge, friendships are made, there’s no challenge, and one will finds over time that they become nervous about venturing into mainstream activities, like interviewing for a job, or going back to their club. The longer one stays here, entrapped inside the ghetto of their negative mental and emotional attitudes, the harder it is to break out. Confidence disappears. People share stories of being victimized and discriminated against and this supports the growing sense that it’s too hard ‘out there’. One concludes they should stay right where they are.
Breaking out of any ghetto, whether it be one of financial poverty or of negative mental and emotional attitudes, takes courage and determination. It begins with accepting the responsibility to change your negative mental and emotional attitudes to ones that are positive. It requires identifying and discarding old beliefs that impede your path to balance and the peace of inner happiness.
You have this power to change your life by changing you mental and emotional attitudes. There are many free tools available on the Internet that will provide you with a good start on this path. Get motivated and take advantage of them.
Visit “Opportunities For self Improvement” if you want to find out more things about motivation.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Choosing the Right Companion - Things You Need To Know
When you are confronted with the problem of choosing the right companion, whether it be a long-term companion or a companion for life, there are some things you need to know.
Understand Yourself
The first thing is to understand yourself. This is vitally important. When you understand yourself, you are aware of the weaknesses you have that can affect you when you are choosing the right companion. A very simple example might be an instance where your boyfriend showers you with beautiful loving words and promises and/or gifts and flowers; something you never had before. Are you putting too much emphasis on this flattering attention?
You need to be aware that there are many who will take advantage of your weakness for special attention. This can be your downfall and change your life in ways you never dreamed of. You have nothing to lose by keeping your guard on at all times; even when you might think you can trust the situation.
Understand Your Gal/Guy
Okay. Now you are in a much better position to understand your gal/guy.
What are the motives behind in this display of gifts?
Are his/her actions consistent with their words.
Are his/her words consistent?
Do the words used and/or the body language reveal any hint of a hidden agenda? If there is any hint of a hidden agenda, don’t make any commitment without knowing if this is something minor that you can accept or signs of a major problem yet to surface.
Does he/she have an ego that is offensive?
Is he/she overbearing in their demeanor?
Is he/she jealous?
Is he/she an angry person?
Do you have any particular intuitive feelings of warning regarding a relationship with this person?
These questions will help you sort out and discard some of the “dating game hype” that often takes place during courtship.
It is essential for you to assume full and complete responsibility at this point. Your future life and emotional well being is at risk.
Careful answers to these questions may help you to avoid the painful experience of a broken marriage possibly with children you that must be cared, both physically and financially, for in the future. Not only is your life affected but those of your children; and, even their children will often carry these scars in the sub conscious part of their being and pass them on for many generations.
What If?
If you allow yourself to be “blinded” with infatuation, you are taking a risk that can result in several different but painful scenarios which can both be physically abusive and as well as emotionally abusive:
Drug use of any frequency or kind of drug used;
Alcoholism;
Venereal disease [STD’s] or history of frequent STD’s including the AID’s virus;
Any kind of physical abuse or family history of physical abuse;
Any family history of child abuse. This is especially important if you a single parent with children;
Authoritarianism or the tendency to be always in control;
Low self esteem which results in belittling you in front of others and/or in private;
Immaturity;
Co-dependency;
Any suspected emotional disorder such as depression, anxiety, etc.;
Differences in cultural backgrounds, especially those of religious differences and/or ethnicity.
While this list does not cover everything, it should help you take another look at your weaknesses as well as help to make a good decision in choosing the right companion for you.
It will save you a lot of distress if you can walk away from any of these situations. Take whatever time you need. Just do not let infatuation and or fear of your own situation bias your decision in choosing the right companion.
Understand Yourself
The first thing is to understand yourself. This is vitally important. When you understand yourself, you are aware of the weaknesses you have that can affect you when you are choosing the right companion. A very simple example might be an instance where your boyfriend showers you with beautiful loving words and promises and/or gifts and flowers; something you never had before. Are you putting too much emphasis on this flattering attention?
You need to be aware that there are many who will take advantage of your weakness for special attention. This can be your downfall and change your life in ways you never dreamed of. You have nothing to lose by keeping your guard on at all times; even when you might think you can trust the situation.
Understand Your Gal/Guy
Okay. Now you are in a much better position to understand your gal/guy.
What are the motives behind in this display of gifts?
Are his/her actions consistent with their words.
Are his/her words consistent?
Do the words used and/or the body language reveal any hint of a hidden agenda? If there is any hint of a hidden agenda, don’t make any commitment without knowing if this is something minor that you can accept or signs of a major problem yet to surface.
Does he/she have an ego that is offensive?
Is he/she overbearing in their demeanor?
Is he/she jealous?
Is he/she an angry person?
Do you have any particular intuitive feelings of warning regarding a relationship with this person?
These questions will help you sort out and discard some of the “dating game hype” that often takes place during courtship.
It is essential for you to assume full and complete responsibility at this point. Your future life and emotional well being is at risk.
Careful answers to these questions may help you to avoid the painful experience of a broken marriage possibly with children you that must be cared, both physically and financially, for in the future. Not only is your life affected but those of your children; and, even their children will often carry these scars in the sub conscious part of their being and pass them on for many generations.
What If?
If you allow yourself to be “blinded” with infatuation, you are taking a risk that can result in several different but painful scenarios which can both be physically abusive and as well as emotionally abusive:
Drug use of any frequency or kind of drug used;
Alcoholism;
Venereal disease [STD’s] or history of frequent STD’s including the AID’s virus;
Any kind of physical abuse or family history of physical abuse;
Any family history of child abuse. This is especially important if you a single parent with children;
Authoritarianism or the tendency to be always in control;
Low self esteem which results in belittling you in front of others and/or in private;
Immaturity;
Co-dependency;
Any suspected emotional disorder such as depression, anxiety, etc.;
Differences in cultural backgrounds, especially those of religious differences and/or ethnicity.
While this list does not cover everything, it should help you take another look at your weaknesses as well as help to make a good decision in choosing the right companion for you.
It will save you a lot of distress if you can walk away from any of these situations. Take whatever time you need. Just do not let infatuation and or fear of your own situation bias your decision in choosing the right companion.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Breaking Up Is Not Easy
There are two sides of breaking up: one aspect is not so good or pleasant and the other side can be a “blessing-in-disguise”.
Let’s take the “not-so-good” aspect first. Breaking up from a committed or long-term relationship is very much like experiencing grief and going through the same grieving stages one experiences when the grim-reaper has claimed one of their loved ones.
In either situation, the reality soon sets in. And, one is left to face loneliness, the loss of companionship, the touching experience of affectionate hugs, etc.
Like many things in life, the grief associated with breaking up can be like the glass of water that is half empty or half full. I have known many people who seem to enjoy their pain and anguish as they live and re-live their “poor me” story.
After one has recovered from the shock and trauma of breaking up; one can heal very nicely by realizing that breaking up is in the best interest of both parties. If this were not the case, it wouldn’t have happened.
Why do we cling to something that will only bring us unhappiness? Is it because any change of this nature takes us out of our comfort zone? But to remain in this “so-called” comfort zone, we become static. Apathy, with all its depression, despair, and other negative attributes, actually becomes our way of life.
Life goes on and will pass us by if we continue to dwell on the past and dream about of what might have been. As I stated before, in all probability, breaking up is a “blessing-in-disguise”. Remember, even if you don’t think so now, “Everything in life truly happens for the best.”
Now is the time for you to acquire new friends and new interests. Be happy and joy your new freedom.
Let’s take the “not-so-good” aspect first. Breaking up from a committed or long-term relationship is very much like experiencing grief and going through the same grieving stages one experiences when the grim-reaper has claimed one of their loved ones.
In either situation, the reality soon sets in. And, one is left to face loneliness, the loss of companionship, the touching experience of affectionate hugs, etc.
Like many things in life, the grief associated with breaking up can be like the glass of water that is half empty or half full. I have known many people who seem to enjoy their pain and anguish as they live and re-live their “poor me” story.
After one has recovered from the shock and trauma of breaking up; one can heal very nicely by realizing that breaking up is in the best interest of both parties. If this were not the case, it wouldn’t have happened.
Why do we cling to something that will only bring us unhappiness? Is it because any change of this nature takes us out of our comfort zone? But to remain in this “so-called” comfort zone, we become static. Apathy, with all its depression, despair, and other negative attributes, actually becomes our way of life.
Life goes on and will pass us by if we continue to dwell on the past and dream about of what might have been. As I stated before, in all probability, breaking up is a “blessing-in-disguise”. Remember, even if you don’t think so now, “Everything in life truly happens for the best.”
Now is the time for you to acquire new friends and new interests. Be happy and joy your new freedom.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Do You Have A Dream?
What do you think about when you see or hear the word, dream?
Like many people living in the US, I recall Dr. Martin Luther’s famous speech in which he emphatically states, “I have a dream.” In this instance, it was a motivational “call to arms” directed to the victims of social bias to have the courage to stand up and claim their rights of freedom to the “good life”.
Many other people are concerned about the meaning of the dreams they experience while sleeping. They pay a great deal of attention to the various possible meanings of their dreams, even to the extent of spending a lot of money for self hypnosis programs and/or other literature to learn how to interpret their dreams.
As a layman, I believe our fascination with dreams is a part of our evolutionary heritage similar to fear. Much of the mythology, that shapes our lives today, was based on the dreams/visions of the Shaman.
And, my belief is basically supported by Wikipedia, and I quote: “Throughout history, people have sought meaning in dreams or divination through dreams.”
Wikipedia goes on to say, “Dreams have also been described physiologically as a response to neural processes during sleep; psychologically as reflections of the subconscious; and spiritually as messages from gods, the deceased, predictions of the future, or from the Soul. Many cultures practice dream incubation with the intention of cultivating dreams that are prophetic or contain messages from the divine.”
It is these thoughts about the meaning of dreams; divination through dreams and about the relationship of dreams and spirituality that captures the commercial entrepreneur’s interest and subsequent exploitation.
Some entrepreneurs feel that lucid dreaming holds an important key to one’s life. Accordingly, programs and audio CDs have been created to help clients/customers to develop and incorporate this strategy as a daily practice.
One form of lucid dreaming involves the dream of absent-minded transgression (DAMT). This is a dream where the dreamer absentmindedly performs an action that they have been trying to stop. Sometimes they experience feelings of intense guilt. My own experience of the phenomenon occurred several years after I quit smoking. Occasionally, I would wake up sitting at the edge of the bed smelling and tasting the pleasure of a cigarette. It was so realistic, I was not sure whether it was a dream or a real experience.
Dream recall is a skill that can be acquired through training and is often used in psychotherapy with the patient being required to maintain a dream journal. Thus, some entrepreneurs feel that being able to recall dreams is important and so a new market for dream recall training books, audio CDs and dream journal diaries has been created to satisfy this desire for personal growth.
According to surveys, many people feel that their dreams serve to predict their future. Psychologists explain this as selective memory. We remember the good dreams and quickly forget the “bad” dreams. Experiments have been conducted that support this theory.
The beginning of this article described dreams as being [physiological] responses to neural processes during sleep and [psychologically] as reflections of our subconscious.
It is important to remember that when and if you decide to attempt to interpret your dreams, you do so for your own entertainment and to perhaps satisfy your own curiosity about “Who you really are.” There is great debate as to whether or not self-hypnosis, bi-neural beats, and other technologies are effective tools in helping to achieve this knowledge of ourselves or are they like placebos?
Like many people living in the US, I recall Dr. Martin Luther’s famous speech in which he emphatically states, “I have a dream.” In this instance, it was a motivational “call to arms” directed to the victims of social bias to have the courage to stand up and claim their rights of freedom to the “good life”.
Many other people are concerned about the meaning of the dreams they experience while sleeping. They pay a great deal of attention to the various possible meanings of their dreams, even to the extent of spending a lot of money for self hypnosis programs and/or other literature to learn how to interpret their dreams.
As a layman, I believe our fascination with dreams is a part of our evolutionary heritage similar to fear. Much of the mythology, that shapes our lives today, was based on the dreams/visions of the Shaman.
And, my belief is basically supported by Wikipedia, and I quote: “Throughout history, people have sought meaning in dreams or divination through dreams.”
Wikipedia goes on to say, “Dreams have also been described physiologically as a response to neural processes during sleep; psychologically as reflections of the subconscious; and spiritually as messages from gods, the deceased, predictions of the future, or from the Soul. Many cultures practice dream incubation with the intention of cultivating dreams that are prophetic or contain messages from the divine.”
It is these thoughts about the meaning of dreams; divination through dreams and about the relationship of dreams and spirituality that captures the commercial entrepreneur’s interest and subsequent exploitation.
Some entrepreneurs feel that lucid dreaming holds an important key to one’s life. Accordingly, programs and audio CDs have been created to help clients/customers to develop and incorporate this strategy as a daily practice.
One form of lucid dreaming involves the dream of absent-minded transgression (DAMT). This is a dream where the dreamer absentmindedly performs an action that they have been trying to stop. Sometimes they experience feelings of intense guilt. My own experience of the phenomenon occurred several years after I quit smoking. Occasionally, I would wake up sitting at the edge of the bed smelling and tasting the pleasure of a cigarette. It was so realistic, I was not sure whether it was a dream or a real experience.
Dream recall is a skill that can be acquired through training and is often used in psychotherapy with the patient being required to maintain a dream journal. Thus, some entrepreneurs feel that being able to recall dreams is important and so a new market for dream recall training books, audio CDs and dream journal diaries has been created to satisfy this desire for personal growth.
According to surveys, many people feel that their dreams serve to predict their future. Psychologists explain this as selective memory. We remember the good dreams and quickly forget the “bad” dreams. Experiments have been conducted that support this theory.
The beginning of this article described dreams as being [physiological] responses to neural processes during sleep and [psychologically] as reflections of our subconscious.
It is important to remember that when and if you decide to attempt to interpret your dreams, you do so for your own entertainment and to perhaps satisfy your own curiosity about “Who you really are.” There is great debate as to whether or not self-hypnosis, bi-neural beats, and other technologies are effective tools in helping to achieve this knowledge of ourselves or are they like placebos?
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
An Old Man Who is Young!
From: Sugna Tolani
Subject: Fw: An Old Man Who is Young! ( PLZ 4WARD 2 AS MANY PPL AS U CAN )
Subject: An Old Man Who is Young!
I felt this one should be shared. I love each of you and I want you to know that this day. We never know what tomorrow will bring; case in point - Japan.
When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in GRASS VALLEY, CA. it was believed that he had nothing left of any value.
Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions, they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.
One nurse took her copy to Missouri.
The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the St. Louis Association for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.
And this little old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this 'anonymous' poem winging across the Internet.
Crabby Old Man...
What do you see nurses? . . .. . . What do you see?
What are you thinking . . . . . when you're looking at me?
A crabby old man . . . . . not very wise,
Uncertain of habit . . . . . with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food . . . . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . . . . . 'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice .. . . . . the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not . . . . . lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . . . The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking? . . . . . Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse . . . . . you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am. . . . . . As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, . . . . . as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of Ten . . . . .. with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters . . . . . who love one another.
A young boy of Sixteen . . . . with wings on his feet.
Dreaming that soon now . . . . . a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . . . . . my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows . . . . . that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . . .. . I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . . . And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . . . . With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons . . .. . . have grown and are gone,
But my woman's beside me . . . . . to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more, babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . . My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me . . . . . my wife is now dead.
I look at the future . . . . . shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing . . . . . young of their own.
And I think of the years .. . . . . and the love that I've known.
I'm now an old man . . . . .. and nature is cruel.
Tis jest to make old age . . . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles . . . . . grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone . . . . where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . . . . . a young guy still dwells,
And now and again . . . . . my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys . . . . . I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living . . . . . life over again.
I think of the years, all too few . . . . . gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people . . . . . open and see.
Not a crabby old man . . . . Look closer . .. . see ME!!
Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within.
We will all, one day, be there, too!
PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM
The best and most beautiful things of this world can't be seen or touched. They must be felt by the heart ……. The “spirit” within ………
Subject: Fw: An Old Man Who is Young! ( PLZ 4WARD 2 AS MANY PPL AS U CAN )
Subject: An Old Man Who is Young!
I felt this one should be shared. I love each of you and I want you to know that this day. We never know what tomorrow will bring; case in point - Japan.
When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in GRASS VALLEY, CA. it was believed that he had nothing left of any value.
Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions, they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.
One nurse took her copy to Missouri.
The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the St. Louis Association for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.
And this little old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this 'anonymous' poem winging across the Internet.
Crabby Old Man...
What do you see nurses? . . .. . . What do you see?
What are you thinking . . . . . when you're looking at me?
A crabby old man . . . . . not very wise,
Uncertain of habit . . . . . with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food . . . . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . . . . . 'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice .. . . . . the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not . . . . . lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . . . The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking? . . . . . Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse . . . . . you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am. . . . . . As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, . . . . . as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of Ten . . . . .. with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters . . . . . who love one another.
A young boy of Sixteen . . . . with wings on his feet.
Dreaming that soon now . . . . . a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . . . . . my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows . . . . . that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . . .. . I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . . . And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . . . . With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons . . .. . . have grown and are gone,
But my woman's beside me . . . . . to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more, babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . . My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me . . . . . my wife is now dead.
I look at the future . . . . . shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing . . . . . young of their own.
And I think of the years .. . . . . and the love that I've known.
I'm now an old man . . . . .. and nature is cruel.
Tis jest to make old age . . . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles . . . . . grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone . . . . where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . . . . . a young guy still dwells,
And now and again . . . . . my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys . . . . . I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living . . . . . life over again.
I think of the years, all too few . . . . . gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people . . . . . open and see.
Not a crabby old man . . . . Look closer . .. . see ME!!
Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within.
We will all, one day, be there, too!
PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM
The best and most beautiful things of this world can't be seen or touched. They must be felt by the heart ……. The “spirit” within ………
Thursday, March 10, 2011
How to Bond on Your First Date
How to bond on your first date presents a few challenges, one or which is the importance of initiating physical contact levels of acceptable touching.
It is essential when meeting a person of interest face-to-face for the first time to establish a basic level of acceptable and mutual touching. This touching contact is essential and goes a long way in establishing the desired bond between you and your partner.
It’s a neat experience, as well as an indication of your lady’s interest in you, when she flirtatiously puts her hand on your knee. WOW!! Then, you can respond later by putting your arm around her waist and pulling her a little closer.
So how do you get to this point in your initial dating relationship? If a lady feels attracted to you, she may be the one to initiate the first physical contact.
But, if the lady seems to avoid your first advance at touching, how can you reach your desire for mutual closeness without creating a greater negative reaction on her part? Now, this where you need to practice finesse.
There is a popular dating theory that advises men to display their “macho” character and just “go for it”. When this happens, the lady will often feel uncomfortable or even “violated” and she will be even more apprehensive on future dates with other men.
On the other side of the coin, you can be too conservative in your encounter and refrain from any kind of touching. This may send negative signals to the lady where she subconsciously assumes that you are not really interested in her or that you are not “macho” enough.
There are a few basic actions you can take that should not be offensive to most of the gals or ladies you encounter and date. In using them as a guide, you will show that you are indeed a caring guy who wants his lady to feel comfortable and safe while in his presence.
One way to form a positive first impression and create an immediate bond with your date is to gently touch the outside of her right arm upon introducing yourself or get to talking [in the event you are both standing, i.e., waiting to be seated, etc.]. It is even more important to maintain eye contact at all times during your introduction. Touching the outside of a woman’s arm is not intimate enough for this touching contact to cause her to feel uncomfortable or strange. Both eye contact and gently touching the outside of her right arm will send her a signal that you are someone special. Try it - you'll notice the benefits immediately.
If you are on a date or with a lady you are attracted to, you can follow the above suggestion. And if the occasion permits, for example, if she needs directions to make a telephone call, etc, you have an addition chance for touching contact by placing your hand on her shoulder or take her hand, drawing her a little closer, and gently turning her around so that she is facing the right direction to her desired destination. You might even accompany her a few steps in that direction.
When the time comes to say good night or good bye after you have made plans to meet again, give her a kiss on the cheek or both a hug and a kiss. Whether a new relationship or someone you care about, by making this gesture before you part with your lady friend, is always a great way of ensuring she remembers you and really cannot wait to see you again.
It is essential when meeting a person of interest face-to-face for the first time to establish a basic level of acceptable and mutual touching. This touching contact is essential and goes a long way in establishing the desired bond between you and your partner.
It’s a neat experience, as well as an indication of your lady’s interest in you, when she flirtatiously puts her hand on your knee. WOW!! Then, you can respond later by putting your arm around her waist and pulling her a little closer.
So how do you get to this point in your initial dating relationship? If a lady feels attracted to you, she may be the one to initiate the first physical contact.
But, if the lady seems to avoid your first advance at touching, how can you reach your desire for mutual closeness without creating a greater negative reaction on her part? Now, this where you need to practice finesse.
There is a popular dating theory that advises men to display their “macho” character and just “go for it”. When this happens, the lady will often feel uncomfortable or even “violated” and she will be even more apprehensive on future dates with other men.
On the other side of the coin, you can be too conservative in your encounter and refrain from any kind of touching. This may send negative signals to the lady where she subconsciously assumes that you are not really interested in her or that you are not “macho” enough.
There are a few basic actions you can take that should not be offensive to most of the gals or ladies you encounter and date. In using them as a guide, you will show that you are indeed a caring guy who wants his lady to feel comfortable and safe while in his presence.
One way to form a positive first impression and create an immediate bond with your date is to gently touch the outside of her right arm upon introducing yourself or get to talking [in the event you are both standing, i.e., waiting to be seated, etc.]. It is even more important to maintain eye contact at all times during your introduction. Touching the outside of a woman’s arm is not intimate enough for this touching contact to cause her to feel uncomfortable or strange. Both eye contact and gently touching the outside of her right arm will send her a signal that you are someone special. Try it - you'll notice the benefits immediately.
If you are on a date or with a lady you are attracted to, you can follow the above suggestion. And if the occasion permits, for example, if she needs directions to make a telephone call, etc, you have an addition chance for touching contact by placing your hand on her shoulder or take her hand, drawing her a little closer, and gently turning her around so that she is facing the right direction to her desired destination. You might even accompany her a few steps in that direction.
When the time comes to say good night or good bye after you have made plans to meet again, give her a kiss on the cheek or both a hug and a kiss. Whether a new relationship or someone you care about, by making this gesture before you part with your lady friend, is always a great way of ensuring she remembers you and really cannot wait to see you again.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Is Subliminal Learning An Easy Way To Achieve Self Improvement?
Have you ever wondered how a song got stuck in your head? Haven you ever wondered how a certain word came into your vocabulary even though you never remembered trying to use it purposefully? Could this be the effect of your unconscious exposure to subliminal learning?
Cited Research
An article in Wikipedia concerning to subliminal research highlights a series of laboratory experiments conducted by Robert Zajonc in the 1960s. In the experiments, subjects were exposed to various stimuli [Chinese characters, paintings, pictures of faces, geometric figures and auditory stimuli] for a very brief duration that could not be perceived consciously. They found that the subjects rated these objects more positively than the other characters which they had not seen. The article went on to state that subliminal effects were generally weak and unlikely to occur without controlled laboratory conditions. [1,2,3]
There are a lot of products available on the market today that claim they have subliminal messages encoded in their products. They talk about various “beats” that excite the learning centers of the brain which result in a magical acquisition of the specific subject matter.
However, the last sentence in the paragraph regarding a summary of the research above, clearly states, “that the subliminal effects were generally weak and unlikely to occur without controlled laboratory conditions.”
Scientists are finding that it is possible to accelerate the learning of some skills with the aid of subliminal learning. However, when learning complex skills such a language or mathematics, there is little evidence to support the value of subliminal learning programs.
Personal Learning Experience
It is a well known fact that we absorbed a lot of the knowledge that has shaped our personality before the age of three. The rest of our learning has been acquired through participation in the educational systems, other community institution and by experience relating to “trial and error.”
As we reach our adult years, we find some of this learning is now out dated; but continues to serves us in a negative way through false beliefs. To “unlearn” the beliefs is a task in itself. It is this author’s opinion that subliminal learning programs would be of little value in replacing our old beliefs with new desired ones. Some authors like to refer to this situation as running an anti-virus program on your computer. These programs effectively remove the viruses but they don’t install any new programs. Before the days of the computer, I liked to use the analogy of washing the blackboard. Remember how the chalk dust would adhere to the blackboard until the blackboard was almost gray if someone hadn’t taken the time to literally wash it? And how, after the blackboard washed, the new material was much clearer.
I end this article by stating, “That in the final analysis, we truly learn and retain knowledge through the conscious use of our five senses in the great and wondrous laboratory of life experience.”
[1]• ^ De Houwer, J., Hendrickx, H. & Baeyens, F. (1997). Evaluative learning with "subliminally" presented stimuli. Consciousness and Cognition, 6, 87-107.
[2]• ^ Zajonc, R.B. (1980). Feeling and thinking: Preferences need no inferences. American Psychologist, 35, 151-175.
[3]• ^ Bornstein, R.F. (1989) Exposure and affect: overview and meta-analysis of research, 1968-1987. Psychological Bulletin, 106, 265-289.
Cited Research
An article in Wikipedia concerning to subliminal research highlights a series of laboratory experiments conducted by Robert Zajonc in the 1960s. In the experiments, subjects were exposed to various stimuli [Chinese characters, paintings, pictures of faces, geometric figures and auditory stimuli] for a very brief duration that could not be perceived consciously. They found that the subjects rated these objects more positively than the other characters which they had not seen. The article went on to state that subliminal effects were generally weak and unlikely to occur without controlled laboratory conditions. [1,2,3]
There are a lot of products available on the market today that claim they have subliminal messages encoded in their products. They talk about various “beats” that excite the learning centers of the brain which result in a magical acquisition of the specific subject matter.
However, the last sentence in the paragraph regarding a summary of the research above, clearly states, “that the subliminal effects were generally weak and unlikely to occur without controlled laboratory conditions.”
Scientists are finding that it is possible to accelerate the learning of some skills with the aid of subliminal learning. However, when learning complex skills such a language or mathematics, there is little evidence to support the value of subliminal learning programs.
Personal Learning Experience
It is a well known fact that we absorbed a lot of the knowledge that has shaped our personality before the age of three. The rest of our learning has been acquired through participation in the educational systems, other community institution and by experience relating to “trial and error.”
As we reach our adult years, we find some of this learning is now out dated; but continues to serves us in a negative way through false beliefs. To “unlearn” the beliefs is a task in itself. It is this author’s opinion that subliminal learning programs would be of little value in replacing our old beliefs with new desired ones. Some authors like to refer to this situation as running an anti-virus program on your computer. These programs effectively remove the viruses but they don’t install any new programs. Before the days of the computer, I liked to use the analogy of washing the blackboard. Remember how the chalk dust would adhere to the blackboard until the blackboard was almost gray if someone hadn’t taken the time to literally wash it? And how, after the blackboard washed, the new material was much clearer.
I end this article by stating, “That in the final analysis, we truly learn and retain knowledge through the conscious use of our five senses in the great and wondrous laboratory of life experience.”
[1]• ^ De Houwer, J., Hendrickx, H. & Baeyens, F. (1997). Evaluative learning with "subliminally" presented stimuli. Consciousness and Cognition, 6, 87-107.
[2]• ^ Zajonc, R.B. (1980). Feeling and thinking: Preferences need no inferences. American Psychologist, 35, 151-175.
[3]• ^ Bornstein, R.F. (1989) Exposure and affect: overview and meta-analysis of research, 1968-1987. Psychological Bulletin, 106, 265-289.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
What do The "Seven Deadly Sins" Have to Do with Self Improvement?
As I have previously stated in a prior article in this blog, entitled “Why do we need self-improvement anyway?” self improvement generally refers to improving one’s peace of mind by eliminating stress and anxiety. The stress and anxiety can be found within our intellectual, emotional, psychological or spiritual levels of our life or in any combination thereof.
Many people turn to their religious faith for their guidance. There is a strong parallel in whatever religious teaching we [meaning you or I] have chosen to follow. All religious teachings provide us with moral codes and other ethical guidelines that are essential to live in peace and harmony within our community.
According to Wikipedia; the “Seven Deadly Sins”, a classification of “Cardinal Sins” has been used since early times by the Christian Church. The “Seven Deadly Sins” are usually defined as anger, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony.
I think it is interesting to note that when we examine our emotional drives of apathy, grief, fear, lust, anger and pride, we find that the “Seven Deadly Sins” actually correlate with our emotional drives. So now, we can look at the “Seven Deadly Sins” in a somewhat different way; the manner they relate to the things that drive us emotionally. For instance:
Apathy includes sloth in addition to the emotional feelings of depression, being overwhelmed, powerless, etc;
Grief stands alone. One will continue to grieve until one can let go of the past and accept the challenges of the present moment with joy.
Fear, which includes the emotional feelings of anxiety and worry;
Lust including greed, gluttony and envy;
Anger, which also includes defiance, frustration, impatience, rage, rebellion, resentment, stubbornness, etc.
Pride, which incorporates the feelings of arrogance, dogmatism, hypocriticism, judgment, selfishness, stubbornness, etc.
Here’s some other interesting tidbits to for you to think about:
Five of the six categories listed above are emotional drives.
The emotional categories of lust, anger, and pride are identified as one of the “Seven Deadly Sins”
Lust is the most significant emotion in the list of the “Seven Deadly Sins” as greed, gluttony and envy are all attributes of lust.
Therefore, it is my belief that this would imply most of our emotional attachments are considered as sins in the eyes of the Christian Church.
Thus, it should stand to reason, that religious teachings are, indeed, important guides to self-improvement and that there is a strong correlation between religion and self-improvement.
Many people turn to their religious faith for their guidance. There is a strong parallel in whatever religious teaching we [meaning you or I] have chosen to follow. All religious teachings provide us with moral codes and other ethical guidelines that are essential to live in peace and harmony within our community.
According to Wikipedia; the “Seven Deadly Sins”, a classification of “Cardinal Sins” has been used since early times by the Christian Church. The “Seven Deadly Sins” are usually defined as anger, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony.
I think it is interesting to note that when we examine our emotional drives of apathy, grief, fear, lust, anger and pride, we find that the “Seven Deadly Sins” actually correlate with our emotional drives. So now, we can look at the “Seven Deadly Sins” in a somewhat different way; the manner they relate to the things that drive us emotionally. For instance:
Apathy includes sloth in addition to the emotional feelings of depression, being overwhelmed, powerless, etc;
Grief stands alone. One will continue to grieve until one can let go of the past and accept the challenges of the present moment with joy.
Fear, which includes the emotional feelings of anxiety and worry;
Lust including greed, gluttony and envy;
Anger, which also includes defiance, frustration, impatience, rage, rebellion, resentment, stubbornness, etc.
Pride, which incorporates the feelings of arrogance, dogmatism, hypocriticism, judgment, selfishness, stubbornness, etc.
Here’s some other interesting tidbits to for you to think about:
Five of the six categories listed above are emotional drives.
The emotional categories of lust, anger, and pride are identified as one of the “Seven Deadly Sins”
Lust is the most significant emotion in the list of the “Seven Deadly Sins” as greed, gluttony and envy are all attributes of lust.
Therefore, it is my belief that this would imply most of our emotional attachments are considered as sins in the eyes of the Christian Church.
Thus, it should stand to reason, that religious teachings are, indeed, important guides to self-improvement and that there is a strong correlation between religion and self-improvement.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Ways to Help Children Save Money
To think of ways to help children save money can be an interesting challenge of your parenting skills. Developing ways to help your children save money provides them with priceless knowledge and insight to the value of money.
Saving money is not easy, especially within our current local, national and global
situations that are prevalent in the major industrial nations today (year of 2011).
There is some literature that chastises by laying blame on those people who were not proactive by not incorporating saving habits in the early years of their lives. While judgment of this sort is never justifiable, many people have endured great hardships during this economic downturn.
This one reason, alone, provides good reason to help children save money by teaching them the value of money.
Another benefit of finding ways to help children save money is that they not only learn the value of money but this knowledge is essential tool as they reach adulthood.
In a very real sense, the advertising media has created a jungle filled with all sorts of predator emotional animals with new names which appeal to our every appetite to enjoy "the good life" filled with the luxury of fine houses, cars, vacation houses, becoming beautiful, etc.
"What's a mother (father, parent) to do?"
Here a few ways to help you children to save money as well as creating an atmosphere of enthusiasm as their savings grow. Put on your "thinking cap" and add any other ways that you can think of to this list.
** Set an example by practicing what you are trying to teach. Discover and enjoy the free things in life. In my community, the businesses often join together and sponsor free concerts and other outdoor activities. Take advantage of them and socialize with your neighbors. Get your neighbors involved by organizing periodic block party events where everyone contributes food, tables or other dinnerware.
** Another idea would be to have a family contest to see who can save the most money in a jar within a specified period of time with a prize being awarded to the winner. This could be a special trophy that is passed from winner to winner.
** Find ways to help you children to save money by earning money doing jobs for family and/or friends. This can be jobs mowing, raking leaves, babysitting or by helping with chores in the house.
** Establish a savings account for each of your children at your financial
institution. This is an excellent way for them to learn to monitor their both their saving and spending activities in addition to the interest income that is added to their account balance.
Developing the ways to help you child save money can be a fun project involving the
participation of the members of the family and ultimately strengthening the bonds of your family in many unexpected ways.
*****
Saving money is difficult in this day and age, especially with economies all over the world
failing, and especially with a lot of people scrambling to get money that they should have
saved years and years ago if only they had been more proactive. If you are regretting not
being able to save much earlier, now is not too late. First, you can start setting money
aside so that you can get more money to spend in the future. And second, you can teach your
own kids to save so that they do not end up in any financial messes from which they cannot
recover.
Saving money may not be an obligation for your kids, however, and it can therefore be
difficult for them to get any work done if they do not feel that spending and saving are
relevant to them. In fact, many kids are supported by their parents until they reach high
school or college, and their conception of the value of money, not to mention the value of
hard work, can be twisted, if not immature.
Moreover, with mass media structured the way it is, you need to contend with the social need
to spend, spend, and spend on luxury, novelty items, or to simply meet trends. How do you
bump up against this kind of mentality and save your kids from the poorhouse?
Here are a few tips that you could follow when you start thinking of how your kids should
save.
- Set a good example. It can be difficult for your kids to simply save when they see you
spending money at every chance that you get. Instead of going to the mall to get the latest
DVD player or flat screen TV, take your kids to the park on Sundays and have a nice family
lunch. Instead of going to a fancy restaurant routinely, go only on special occasions and
teach your kids to budget their money.
- Save visibly. Have a jar set out where you can drop pennies and other spare change so that
your children can see it eventually fill up. This way, they can set up their own jars too.
Have a contest and turn it into a race: see who can fill up their jars the fastest and you
can give more money to the best saver!
- Encourage your children to work over the summer. It can be hard to correlate work with
earning money, and you can start your children early with this kind of life lesson. Start
out small: give them small change for helping out with some chores, such as mowing the lawn,
raking leaves up, or cleaning the upstairs bedroom. Encourage your kids to get together with
their friends and put up a service, such as babysitting or house cleaning. Build on these
lessons until your children rely on their own resources for money and job hunting.
- Have a savings account exclusively in your children’s names, but do not hand them credit
cards! They need to have their own means to save and monitor their savings and spending, but
do not provide them with the illusion that money is easy to spend, and all that they need is
a piece of plastic.
- Have a Threshold Award. If your child reaches a certain point in his or her savings, offer
to add to a certain amount of money to his or her account as a reward.
Saving money is not easy, especially within our current local, national and global
situations that are prevalent in the major industrial nations today (year of 2011).
There is some literature that chastises by laying blame on those people who were not proactive by not incorporating saving habits in the early years of their lives. While judgment of this sort is never justifiable, many people have endured great hardships during this economic downturn.
This one reason, alone, provides good reason to help children save money by teaching them the value of money.
Another benefit of finding ways to help children save money is that they not only learn the value of money but this knowledge is essential tool as they reach adulthood.
In a very real sense, the advertising media has created a jungle filled with all sorts of predator emotional animals with new names which appeal to our every appetite to enjoy "the good life" filled with the luxury of fine houses, cars, vacation houses, becoming beautiful, etc.
"What's a mother (father, parent) to do?"
Here a few ways to help you children to save money as well as creating an atmosphere of enthusiasm as their savings grow. Put on your "thinking cap" and add any other ways that you can think of to this list.
** Set an example by practicing what you are trying to teach. Discover and enjoy the free things in life. In my community, the businesses often join together and sponsor free concerts and other outdoor activities. Take advantage of them and socialize with your neighbors. Get your neighbors involved by organizing periodic block party events where everyone contributes food, tables or other dinnerware.
** Another idea would be to have a family contest to see who can save the most money in a jar within a specified period of time with a prize being awarded to the winner. This could be a special trophy that is passed from winner to winner.
** Find ways to help you children to save money by earning money doing jobs for family and/or friends. This can be jobs mowing, raking leaves, babysitting or by helping with chores in the house.
** Establish a savings account for each of your children at your financial
institution. This is an excellent way for them to learn to monitor their both their saving and spending activities in addition to the interest income that is added to their account balance.
Developing the ways to help you child save money can be a fun project involving the
participation of the members of the family and ultimately strengthening the bonds of your family in many unexpected ways.
*****
Saving money is difficult in this day and age, especially with economies all over the world
failing, and especially with a lot of people scrambling to get money that they should have
saved years and years ago if only they had been more proactive. If you are regretting not
being able to save much earlier, now is not too late. First, you can start setting money
aside so that you can get more money to spend in the future. And second, you can teach your
own kids to save so that they do not end up in any financial messes from which they cannot
recover.
Saving money may not be an obligation for your kids, however, and it can therefore be
difficult for them to get any work done if they do not feel that spending and saving are
relevant to them. In fact, many kids are supported by their parents until they reach high
school or college, and their conception of the value of money, not to mention the value of
hard work, can be twisted, if not immature.
Moreover, with mass media structured the way it is, you need to contend with the social need
to spend, spend, and spend on luxury, novelty items, or to simply meet trends. How do you
bump up against this kind of mentality and save your kids from the poorhouse?
Here are a few tips that you could follow when you start thinking of how your kids should
save.
- Set a good example. It can be difficult for your kids to simply save when they see you
spending money at every chance that you get. Instead of going to the mall to get the latest
DVD player or flat screen TV, take your kids to the park on Sundays and have a nice family
lunch. Instead of going to a fancy restaurant routinely, go only on special occasions and
teach your kids to budget their money.
- Save visibly. Have a jar set out where you can drop pennies and other spare change so that
your children can see it eventually fill up. This way, they can set up their own jars too.
Have a contest and turn it into a race: see who can fill up their jars the fastest and you
can give more money to the best saver!
- Encourage your children to work over the summer. It can be hard to correlate work with
earning money, and you can start your children early with this kind of life lesson. Start
out small: give them small change for helping out with some chores, such as mowing the lawn,
raking leaves up, or cleaning the upstairs bedroom. Encourage your kids to get together with
their friends and put up a service, such as babysitting or house cleaning. Build on these
lessons until your children rely on their own resources for money and job hunting.
- Have a savings account exclusively in your children’s names, but do not hand them credit
cards! They need to have their own means to save and monitor their savings and spending, but
do not provide them with the illusion that money is easy to spend, and all that they need is
a piece of plastic.
- Have a Threshold Award. If your child reaches a certain point in his or her savings, offer
to add to a certain amount of money to his or her account as a reward.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
6 Simple Tips for Adult Motivation
There is not a lot of material written about the subject of adult motivation. A review of research indexes indicates there is, unfortunately, little interest in learning about adult motivation. Yet, it is an important driving force in our day-to-day lives.
Consequence of Overlooking Adult Motivation
It is very easy to overlook adult motivation until we become discouraged which can lead to depression. It’s the old downward spiral of the apathy whirlpool that literally sucks our creative energies “down the drain.” As the old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Add Adult Motivation to Your Self Improvement Arsenal
Therefore, it is extremely important that we add the hidden strengths of adult motivation to our self improvement arsenal. We can, then, activate this tool when it becomes necessary for us to call upon our adult motivation arsenal when those “blue” moods come to visit us.
Each Decision IS a Goal
Whenever we decide to do anything, the result of that decision is a goal, howbeit, ever small. Motivation can be defined as the power force that keeps us on the path to achievement. True, we can give up achieving the goal; but, then, that decision transforms into a questionable action and the power of adult motivation "goes down the drain" along with the goal.
Here are some simple things you can do to enhance your awareness and strengthen your adult motivation. By incorporating these into your daily life, you will have the tools cope with those “blue” moods before they become more serious obstacles.
6 Simple Tips to Acquire and Maintain Adult Motivation
Cultivate your sense of humor. Take time to enjoy comedy. Watching “raw” videos that people publish of the funny things their pets do. Find ways to laugh at yourself when you make a mistake. Listen for and to laughter. It is a wonderful antidote in laying the foundation to keeping your adult motivation levels in good repair.
Observe life around you. Watch how other people resolve their life challenges. You can emulate them; or you learn what not to do if their methods do not “ring your bell.”
Take pride in your successes and always congratulate yourself.
Strive to do better and achieve your next desired goal with less stress.
Be an example to other people. Walk with your head held high and with a firm gait. You can be rest assured someone is watching you, even if you are walking in the park for exercise. I know because I live next to a park that has a walking trail.
An essential part of adult motivation is having a good moral code. By living by a good moral code, you will experience far fewer “guilt trips” and, hence, a reason to feel “blue”.
Transform these simple tips into habits and you will have a good foundation for adult motivation which will serve you very well in the days, weeks, months or years ahead.
Consequence of Overlooking Adult Motivation
It is very easy to overlook adult motivation until we become discouraged which can lead to depression. It’s the old downward spiral of the apathy whirlpool that literally sucks our creative energies “down the drain.” As the old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Add Adult Motivation to Your Self Improvement Arsenal
Therefore, it is extremely important that we add the hidden strengths of adult motivation to our self improvement arsenal. We can, then, activate this tool when it becomes necessary for us to call upon our adult motivation arsenal when those “blue” moods come to visit us.
Each Decision IS a Goal
Whenever we decide to do anything, the result of that decision is a goal, howbeit, ever small. Motivation can be defined as the power force that keeps us on the path to achievement. True, we can give up achieving the goal; but, then, that decision transforms into a questionable action and the power of adult motivation "goes down the drain" along with the goal.
Here are some simple things you can do to enhance your awareness and strengthen your adult motivation. By incorporating these into your daily life, you will have the tools cope with those “blue” moods before they become more serious obstacles.
6 Simple Tips to Acquire and Maintain Adult Motivation
Cultivate your sense of humor. Take time to enjoy comedy. Watching “raw” videos that people publish of the funny things their pets do. Find ways to laugh at yourself when you make a mistake. Listen for and to laughter. It is a wonderful antidote in laying the foundation to keeping your adult motivation levels in good repair.
Observe life around you. Watch how other people resolve their life challenges. You can emulate them; or you learn what not to do if their methods do not “ring your bell.”
Take pride in your successes and always congratulate yourself.
Strive to do better and achieve your next desired goal with less stress.
Be an example to other people. Walk with your head held high and with a firm gait. You can be rest assured someone is watching you, even if you are walking in the park for exercise. I know because I live next to a park that has a walking trail.
An essential part of adult motivation is having a good moral code. By living by a good moral code, you will experience far fewer “guilt trips” and, hence, a reason to feel “blue”.
Transform these simple tips into habits and you will have a good foundation for adult motivation which will serve you very well in the days, weeks, months or years ahead.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
TAKE CONTROL OF DEPRESSION
If you do not take control of depression, it quickly becomes a downward spiral, much like a whirlpool, into chronic apathy accompanied by inactivity. Much like a whirlpool, it effectively sucks your energy down the drain into despair.
As mentioned before in one my earliest blogs, depression is an aspect of apathy. Depression is commonly described as a low or negative mood and associated with an aversion to activity. It is well-known that almost every human being becomes a victim to depression at one time or more times during his/her lifetime.
CAUSES OF DEPRESSION
The primary cause of depression continues to be the subject of much debate among the experts. Whatever the cause of depression, whether it is from some external event from which we lack control or just one or more days of frustrating events, taking control of depression is absolutely essential.
DIFFERENT INTENSITIES OF DEPRESSION
There are many intensities of depression. Different people react to life events in many differing ways; and, as a result, they can and do experience different intensities of depression ranging from being demoralized to thinking of suicide.
Take heart! If you are experiencing depression, you are not alone. Depression is a common human problem and affects almost everyone one or more times during their life time.
COUNTERACTING DEPRESSION
The first step you need to take in counteracting depression is to recognize that the power to take control of depression is within you. While it is not easy, you need to admit to yourself that you, alone, allowed yourself to slide into this mood. And, now, you have the task of climbing out of this damnable abyss of depression.
First and foremost, be aware that you are feeling sorry for yourself, discouraged, frequently exhausted or fatigued and/or helpless [just to name a few examples of depression].
Once you comprehend your feelings and why you react the way you do to certain situations, you can then set about arranging your life so as to avoid those situations in the future. And thus, you are better prepared to handle them when you encounter similar situations in the future.
It is important is to understand that it is possible to become alert to the intuitive alarm that warns you to take preventative steps to stay clear of infectious negative thoughts. Negative thoughts are the seeds of depression. These negative thoughts are like internal video recordings of past failures and disappointments which effectively overwhelm our mood. They lay dormant in memory just waiting for the right set of circumstances to trigger them into replay and we have the pleasure of experiencing the past pain all over again.
It has been said, dangerous self talk and replaying these internal tapes of past failures and disappointments are the most debilitating activities a human being can engage in. In truth, these thoughts only serve to reinforce a negative self image.
It so often happens our initial perception of the situation at hand turns out to be completely inaccurate. Generally speaking nothing is ever so bad or, as good as it may at first appear. As I have mentioned before, my favorite description for this is: “Confused Imagination”. So, the next step is learning, understanding and accepting that you can take control of depression by what you allow to be accepted as fact by your brain. The axiom, “Garbage in, garbage out”, can be applied to almost every thing we do.
Therefore, it is essential that negative self talk be immediately replaced by constructive self talk and optimistic visual imaginings. Those negative tapes and videos in the mind must be deleted and recorded over with new images of your successes and achievements. Start writing a daily log or journal, if necessary. I promise, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with your achievements.
SUMMARY
In summary of this blog article, you can conquer depression by taking that first step to control your future thoughts and activity. You will effectively take control of depression when you take control of what you allow to enter your brain. Your future is in your thoughts.
Make the decision today to take charge of your life and to live it as you want to and not as others would have you live it.
Whatever you do, do it for you!
As mentioned before in one my earliest blogs, depression is an aspect of apathy. Depression is commonly described as a low or negative mood and associated with an aversion to activity. It is well-known that almost every human being becomes a victim to depression at one time or more times during his/her lifetime.
CAUSES OF DEPRESSION
The primary cause of depression continues to be the subject of much debate among the experts. Whatever the cause of depression, whether it is from some external event from which we lack control or just one or more days of frustrating events, taking control of depression is absolutely essential.
DIFFERENT INTENSITIES OF DEPRESSION
There are many intensities of depression. Different people react to life events in many differing ways; and, as a result, they can and do experience different intensities of depression ranging from being demoralized to thinking of suicide.
Take heart! If you are experiencing depression, you are not alone. Depression is a common human problem and affects almost everyone one or more times during their life time.
COUNTERACTING DEPRESSION
The first step you need to take in counteracting depression is to recognize that the power to take control of depression is within you. While it is not easy, you need to admit to yourself that you, alone, allowed yourself to slide into this mood. And, now, you have the task of climbing out of this damnable abyss of depression.
First and foremost, be aware that you are feeling sorry for yourself, discouraged, frequently exhausted or fatigued and/or helpless [just to name a few examples of depression].
Once you comprehend your feelings and why you react the way you do to certain situations, you can then set about arranging your life so as to avoid those situations in the future. And thus, you are better prepared to handle them when you encounter similar situations in the future.
It is important is to understand that it is possible to become alert to the intuitive alarm that warns you to take preventative steps to stay clear of infectious negative thoughts. Negative thoughts are the seeds of depression. These negative thoughts are like internal video recordings of past failures and disappointments which effectively overwhelm our mood. They lay dormant in memory just waiting for the right set of circumstances to trigger them into replay and we have the pleasure of experiencing the past pain all over again.
It has been said, dangerous self talk and replaying these internal tapes of past failures and disappointments are the most debilitating activities a human being can engage in. In truth, these thoughts only serve to reinforce a negative self image.
It so often happens our initial perception of the situation at hand turns out to be completely inaccurate. Generally speaking nothing is ever so bad or, as good as it may at first appear. As I have mentioned before, my favorite description for this is: “Confused Imagination”. So, the next step is learning, understanding and accepting that you can take control of depression by what you allow to be accepted as fact by your brain. The axiom, “Garbage in, garbage out”, can be applied to almost every thing we do.
Therefore, it is essential that negative self talk be immediately replaced by constructive self talk and optimistic visual imaginings. Those negative tapes and videos in the mind must be deleted and recorded over with new images of your successes and achievements. Start writing a daily log or journal, if necessary. I promise, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with your achievements.
SUMMARY
In summary of this blog article, you can conquer depression by taking that first step to control your future thoughts and activity. You will effectively take control of depression when you take control of what you allow to enter your brain. Your future is in your thoughts.
Make the decision today to take charge of your life and to live it as you want to and not as others would have you live it.
Whatever you do, do it for you!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Tips for Getting Your Teenagers to Save Money
To save money is an important responsibility and an essential trait to have in adulthood.
To be able to save money in spite of the mass media is a daily challenge for each of us. The media is relentless as it targets our every desire for material things and specialized services designed to make our lives easier, better and happier.
Learning the Value of Money
The value of money takes on a completely different meaning when your teenager is required to spend his/her own money. Thus, from experience, they learn to carefully consider things before they actually make a purchase as well as a keener appreciation for their purchase.
Money Here; Money Gone Tomorrow
Spending money can be likened to enjoying a good meal. After your appetite is satisfied, the event is over and the money you paid for it is gone too. Therefore, for this reason alone, it is vitally important to teach your teenage children how to save money.
Need for Proper Education
They also need to have a proper education which will prevent them from falling victim to the numerous financial traps and scams that are becoming such common occurrences in our daily lives. It seems no one is safe from these vicious acts, especially the older generation.
Ways you can encourage your teenage children to start to save money
Set an example. “Practice what you preach.” Save money in a savings account and/or buying other equity funds, such as stocks and bonds.
Encourage your teenager to take on jobs to earn money.
Have your teenager open a bank account and save the money they have earned.
If you are able, give them a bonus when they save specified amounts of money.
Again, if you are able help them to invest in the purchase of mutual funds and stocks, etc.
To be able to save money in spite of the mass media is a daily challenge for each of us. The media is relentless as it targets our every desire for material things and specialized services designed to make our lives easier, better and happier.
Learning the Value of Money
The value of money takes on a completely different meaning when your teenager is required to spend his/her own money. Thus, from experience, they learn to carefully consider things before they actually make a purchase as well as a keener appreciation for their purchase.
Money Here; Money Gone Tomorrow
Spending money can be likened to enjoying a good meal. After your appetite is satisfied, the event is over and the money you paid for it is gone too. Therefore, for this reason alone, it is vitally important to teach your teenage children how to save money.
Need for Proper Education
They also need to have a proper education which will prevent them from falling victim to the numerous financial traps and scams that are becoming such common occurrences in our daily lives. It seems no one is safe from these vicious acts, especially the older generation.
Ways you can encourage your teenage children to start to save money
Set an example. “Practice what you preach.” Save money in a savings account and/or buying other equity funds, such as stocks and bonds.
Encourage your teenager to take on jobs to earn money.
Have your teenager open a bank account and save the money they have earned.
If you are able, give them a bonus when they save specified amounts of money.
Again, if you are able help them to invest in the purchase of mutual funds and stocks, etc.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Stressed = Desserts [spelled backward]
Do you ever wonder if this why so many of have problems being overweight?
It is a well-known fact that stress is the source of a multitude of chronic health problems ranging from:
Heart trouble
Panic/anxiety attacks
Angina or heartburn
Severe Depression
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Hypoglycemia
Apathy leading chronic fatigue
Migraine headaches
Insomnia
Common Causes of Stress
We are literally bombarded with stressful information, whether from the global news of natural or man-made catastrophes; the national news coverage of civil unrest and/or political confrontation and/or economic downturns; or local news coverage echoing the above events that are occurring on the local scene.
Then to offset this, the Madison Avenue media expose us to all the hyped-up products designed to make us rich, beautiful, happy in addition to solving all our problems – for a price. It used to be that one could turn off the television and avoid most of this noise. Now, it has invaded the Internet with its obnoxious pop-up ads and blaring videos.
Stop Stress Now!!
Any feeling that creates a contradiction in and to your feeling of contentment [stress] is an “untruth” and does not serve you. It is just like the virus that infects your computer. Hit the delete key!!
Another way to look at stress is to equate it with confused imagination.
Control Your Exposure to Stress
You can control your exposure a small amount of stress by taking some part in some of the following actions:
Turn off the TV. I permanently turned off my TV over ten years ago and have never missed the “noise”.
Turn on your favorite music.
Go for a walk whenever you feel “stressed out”.
Visit the library or bookstore. Some bookstores even have coffee shops.
Start small “de-cluttering” projects. Hold a garage sale or donate unused items to your favorite charity thrift shops.
Treat yourself by brewing a special cup of tea or coffee and grab a good book to read, if only for a few minutes while the house is quiet.
Start a craft project you enjoy such as needlepoint, knitting, updating photo albums, etc.
How to Avoid Stress
The best way to avoid stress is to “Live in this moment only, RIGHT HERE and RIGHT NOW.” The means observe where you are in your current feelings and surroundings without judgment and accept this present moment “Just as it is” with out fear about the future. This moment of RIGHT NOW is all there is.
Disciplining your conscious mind to relax into this mode of thought is THE MOST effective way to avoid stress “period”.
Until we meet again--Have a Wondrous and Glorious Week
It is a well-known fact that stress is the source of a multitude of chronic health problems ranging from:
Heart trouble
Panic/anxiety attacks
Angina or heartburn
Severe Depression
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Hypoglycemia
Apathy leading chronic fatigue
Migraine headaches
Insomnia
Common Causes of Stress
We are literally bombarded with stressful information, whether from the global news of natural or man-made catastrophes; the national news coverage of civil unrest and/or political confrontation and/or economic downturns; or local news coverage echoing the above events that are occurring on the local scene.
Then to offset this, the Madison Avenue media expose us to all the hyped-up products designed to make us rich, beautiful, happy in addition to solving all our problems – for a price. It used to be that one could turn off the television and avoid most of this noise. Now, it has invaded the Internet with its obnoxious pop-up ads and blaring videos.
Stop Stress Now!!
Any feeling that creates a contradiction in and to your feeling of contentment [stress] is an “untruth” and does not serve you. It is just like the virus that infects your computer. Hit the delete key!!
Another way to look at stress is to equate it with confused imagination.
Control Your Exposure to Stress
You can control your exposure a small amount of stress by taking some part in some of the following actions:
Turn off the TV. I permanently turned off my TV over ten years ago and have never missed the “noise”.
Turn on your favorite music.
Go for a walk whenever you feel “stressed out”.
Visit the library or bookstore. Some bookstores even have coffee shops.
Start small “de-cluttering” projects. Hold a garage sale or donate unused items to your favorite charity thrift shops.
Treat yourself by brewing a special cup of tea or coffee and grab a good book to read, if only for a few minutes while the house is quiet.
Start a craft project you enjoy such as needlepoint, knitting, updating photo albums, etc.
How to Avoid Stress
The best way to avoid stress is to “Live in this moment only, RIGHT HERE and RIGHT NOW.” The means observe where you are in your current feelings and surroundings without judgment and accept this present moment “Just as it is” with out fear about the future. This moment of RIGHT NOW is all there is.
Disciplining your conscious mind to relax into this mode of thought is THE MOST effective way to avoid stress “period”.
Until we meet again--Have a Wondrous and Glorious Week
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Reclaiming Your Power
Power has many different meanings which can vary among whomever you talk to.
For some, power is measured by their influence and direct control they have over other people’s lives;
For others, power is acquired temporarily by the direct control they can exert over other people by means of threat;
For still others, their claim to power and happiness is measured by the approval of their friends, neighbors and others who belong to their social networks; and the list of meanings goes on.
But what about the personal power that is the core of your being? There are many people who feel entrapped or overwhelmed by their responsibilities in life. Decades go by, each year draining a little more of who we truly are. And then some of us awaken to the fact that we have really lived our life empoverished by these erroneous feelings of entrapment, howbeit, late in life.
At this point, let’s look at a few of the major emotional challenges that are a part of our daily lives,
We are faced with more chronic health problems which often start in childhood;
We are living longer, many with declining quality of life;
The foundation of the “old economy” is changing leaving many without stable incomes;
And, if this not enough, we are alerted to all the life challenges occurring on the global scale.
Who, When, What, How and Why?
“Who” means YOU.
“When” means NOW.
“What” means it is essential to assume responsibility for our own being. When you try to spend more money than you have, you end up owing a debt. When you over-extend yourself, the same principal applies. Thus, it is absolutely essential that you establish your boundaries; thereby becoming accountable and assuming responsibility for your own inner being.
“How” means you can reclaim your self-esteem and self confidence by taking action on the following steps;
1. Accept yourself and your current life situation without judgment and/or labels;
2. Learn to live only “in the RIGHT NOW moment” without consideration for past experiences or what the future may hold;
3. Assume an “I can” attitude in all challenges;
4. Believe in yourself;
5. Be grateful and feel good not only for this particular challenge but for your success in acknowledging and confronting it; and
6. Above all, learn to love yourself unconditionally.
“Why” means to be forewarned, “If you should make the choice to ignore this responsibility by taking no action, you are choosing to continue your emotional suffering and unhappiness.”
Enough said.
Take good care and Have a Wonderful Week!!
For some, power is measured by their influence and direct control they have over other people’s lives;
For others, power is acquired temporarily by the direct control they can exert over other people by means of threat;
For still others, their claim to power and happiness is measured by the approval of their friends, neighbors and others who belong to their social networks; and the list of meanings goes on.
But what about the personal power that is the core of your being? There are many people who feel entrapped or overwhelmed by their responsibilities in life. Decades go by, each year draining a little more of who we truly are. And then some of us awaken to the fact that we have really lived our life empoverished by these erroneous feelings of entrapment, howbeit, late in life.
At this point, let’s look at a few of the major emotional challenges that are a part of our daily lives,
We are faced with more chronic health problems which often start in childhood;
We are living longer, many with declining quality of life;
The foundation of the “old economy” is changing leaving many without stable incomes;
And, if this not enough, we are alerted to all the life challenges occurring on the global scale.
Who, When, What, How and Why?
“Who” means YOU.
“When” means NOW.
“What” means it is essential to assume responsibility for our own being. When you try to spend more money than you have, you end up owing a debt. When you over-extend yourself, the same principal applies. Thus, it is absolutely essential that you establish your boundaries; thereby becoming accountable and assuming responsibility for your own inner being.
“How” means you can reclaim your self-esteem and self confidence by taking action on the following steps;
1. Accept yourself and your current life situation without judgment and/or labels;
2. Learn to live only “in the RIGHT NOW moment” without consideration for past experiences or what the future may hold;
3. Assume an “I can” attitude in all challenges;
4. Believe in yourself;
5. Be grateful and feel good not only for this particular challenge but for your success in acknowledging and confronting it; and
6. Above all, learn to love yourself unconditionally.
“Why” means to be forewarned, “If you should make the choice to ignore this responsibility by taking no action, you are choosing to continue your emotional suffering and unhappiness.”
Enough said.
Take good care and Have a Wonderful Week!!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
How to Make Success Not Just Obtainable but Sustainable
Each of us has a fundamental need to consistently improve our life. Our self satisfaction continues to grow as we feel that we are contributing to the well being of our family members, friends and our community through our influence and actions.
However, it is very easy to become a victim of the materialistic value belief that says the more you own the more power you have to influence others. It is unfortunate that this often becomes the benchmark we use to judge our personal success. Then we become complacent, thinking that once we have everything we our life will be perfect and filled with happiness.
But then there is the “gap effect” part of your subconscious that is always prodding you to strive for the next level. Are you on this “wheel” that that spins on its axle and goes nowhere?
Do I need to add that this is like the computer virus that can bring your computer to a halt? Likewise, this insatiable drive can bring you to a halt both emotionally and/or spiritually.
If you should need further evidence of this, look at the news items relating to the current suicides that take place frequently such as the top fashion models, the immediate family member of international political figures or “fallen” community leaders.
Were you aware that the word “success” comes from Latin and means “to advance” or “to improve”. This implies that success is a continuing process and not a “means to an end”. Stated a different way, success allows you a better quality of life; thus, moving you forward to having a better life experience. This was my lesson for the day.
This brings us to the “sustainable” concept of success.
It is impossible to sustain “inner peace” when you depend on other people or external things to make you happy. The feeling of happiness comes from the enjoyment of external things, things outside of you; and therefore, is temporary. I recommend that you stop and ponder what your feelings would be if other people were suddenly removed from your life and/or you lost your possessions.
Nor can you achieve any level of sustainable success without developing some changes in your attitude. This requires that you honestly examine and listen to your inner feelings. It is imperative that you get acquainted with yourself, i.e., “Know thyself.” And, then, endeavor to accept yourself as you are and to fall in love with that wonderful being.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!
However, it is very easy to become a victim of the materialistic value belief that says the more you own the more power you have to influence others. It is unfortunate that this often becomes the benchmark we use to judge our personal success. Then we become complacent, thinking that once we have everything we our life will be perfect and filled with happiness.
But then there is the “gap effect” part of your subconscious that is always prodding you to strive for the next level. Are you on this “wheel” that that spins on its axle and goes nowhere?
Do I need to add that this is like the computer virus that can bring your computer to a halt? Likewise, this insatiable drive can bring you to a halt both emotionally and/or spiritually.
If you should need further evidence of this, look at the news items relating to the current suicides that take place frequently such as the top fashion models, the immediate family member of international political figures or “fallen” community leaders.
Were you aware that the word “success” comes from Latin and means “to advance” or “to improve”. This implies that success is a continuing process and not a “means to an end”. Stated a different way, success allows you a better quality of life; thus, moving you forward to having a better life experience. This was my lesson for the day.
This brings us to the “sustainable” concept of success.
It is impossible to sustain “inner peace” when you depend on other people or external things to make you happy. The feeling of happiness comes from the enjoyment of external things, things outside of you; and therefore, is temporary. I recommend that you stop and ponder what your feelings would be if other people were suddenly removed from your life and/or you lost your possessions.
Nor can you achieve any level of sustainable success without developing some changes in your attitude. This requires that you honestly examine and listen to your inner feelings. It is imperative that you get acquainted with yourself, i.e., “Know thyself.” And, then, endeavor to accept yourself as you are and to fall in love with that wonderful being.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!
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