The World Needs You to Do What You Love

Five things you can do to move toward getting paid to do what you love:


1. Find your passion.
2. Find your strengths.
3. Find your value.
4. Make the commitment.
5. Be willing to let go.

Read more at the original article:
http://zenhabits.net/the-world-needs-you-to-do-what-you-love/

CAREER: Find Your True Gift! by Tony Robbins

A Beautiful Day

You Can Do Anything by Sadie

Follow Your Bliss by Joseph Campbell

"The way to find out about your happiness is to keep your mind on those moments when you really ARE happy -- not excited, not just thrilled, but deeply happy. 

This requires a little bit of self- analysis. What is it that makes you happy? Stay with it, no matter what people tell you. This is what I call, 'Following Your Bliss.' 

If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you. And the life that you ought to be living, is the one you ARE living. Wherever you are, if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time. 

When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open doors for you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be."

Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy. ~Kahlil Gibran 

One eskimO - Amazing

I feel sweet
Do you feel sweet?
It’s amazing
I have no skin
And I feel everything
It’s amazing
I feel good
When you feel good
I knew I would
And it’s amazing
I’ve wanted this for so long
Now the deed has been done
We shall rise with the sun
And spend our time as one

Now there is no sin
In anything
And it’s amazing
I love life
I hope you do too
‘Cause I love everything
It’s all amazing
I feel you
Do you feel you?
I understand
When they say we’re born again
“Cause I feel born again
I’m born again
And it’s amazing
And it’s the best thing
And it’s glorious
It’s life changing
This feeling
Is amazing
It’s the best thing
It’s glorious
It’s life changing

This feeling

This feeling
Oh lord this feeling
It’s amazing
It’s in the stars
In the sun
It’s everywhere
In everyone
And it will be every day
From now on
From now on
We are one
And it’s amazing
It’s in the stars
In the sun
It’s everywhere
In everyone
And it will be every day
From now on
From now on
We are one
And it’s amazing
It’s in the stars
In the sun
It’s everywhere
In everyone
And it will be every day
From now on
From now on
We are one
And it’s amazing

A New Direction For Love

Something Else

My son asked me to tell him a story one night, and getting restless with the usual books, I decided to tell him a new story.  On the fly, I told him the story of a Mountain Bear named Zak.  [Keep in mind this is "on the fly" so the flow is different :-) ]

One day, in a land far, far away, there lived a bear named Zak.  As most bears are near where Zak lived, he was a Mountain Bear because he lived in the Mountains.  All of Zak's friends were Mountain Bears.  Even Zak's family, his mama, his papa, his brothers and sisters and cousins were all Mountain Bears.  Every day, they would do Mountain Bear things, like fishing in the streams or digging in the dirt or walking around the Mountains.  All of Zak's friends and family were content.  They were happy to be Mountain Bears and do Mountain Bear things.

But not Zak.

Zak was not a normal Mountain Bear.  He woke up every morning with a sparkle in his eye, ready for the unknown.  Zak was ready for something amazing to happen that was out of the ordinary.  He always looked around for something new to do.  His friends and family, of course, gave him a growl and a scowl and told him to stop such foolish things.  He was a Mountain Bear and needn't worry with such things that were never going to happen.  Mountain Bears have always done the same things for as long as anyone can remember and it has never been any different.

But Zak felt he was different.

So every evening, when the rest of the sloth of bears would shuffle as they always did back to the den to rest for the night, Zak would sit back a bit to savor the wonder of the night and look to the stars.  He stared at the moon.  He wondered at the sky.  He imagined a world beyond.  Usually, an older Mountain Bear would grunt at him to get in the den, so before he hurried in, he took one last smell, hoping for adventure.

But Zak dreamed.

Zak dreamed of adventure.  Zak knew he was meant for something more.  Zak dreamed of different kinds of fishing from bigger areas of water than just streams.  Zak dreamed of different birds than he had ever seen  Zak wanted to love the things he did every day instead of just doing what had been done before.  Of course, all the other Mountain Bears told him that he was crazy.  They called him silly and taunted him.  They doused his dreams with buckets of nasty and shunned him for being different.

But Zak kept dreaming.

Soon Zak was getting in trouble by the older bears for pushing the limits and venturing out farther than he was allowed.  His Mountain Bear mama would scold him, his Mountain Bear papa would shake his head and his Mountain Bear brother and sister and cousins would sneer at his "bad behavior."  It was bad enough that he had these silly dreams, but now he had to break the rules?

But Zak kept pushing.

One day, not long after he began to get in trouble, he woke up and smelled a smell that he had never smelled before.  He asked all the other Mountain Bears if they could smell it, but they just looked at him funny!  There goes crazy Zak, dreaming up silly things again.  But Zak was not dreaming.  This smell was new.  It was beautiful.  It made him remember all of his dreams.  The smell was so strong that he couldn't help but follow it.  As he smelled and followed and smelled some more, he walked in places he had never gone before.  He began to see things he had never seen before.  The ground began to change and the trees looked different.  The feel of the air was different and the breeze came faster than he had ever felt before.  This was different.

But Zak kept smelling.

Soon, Zak reached a point where he could no longer call it the Mountains.  He reached a point where if he kept going farther, he could not turn around and go back.  He looked back at his old Mountain Bear life and pondered for a while what life would be like back there.  Then he turned and looked forward, where he had never seen any of what lie ahead.  After a while, he smelled again to see if this amazing new odor was still there.  It was!  Stronger than ever, it drew images of the new birds, the new fish, the unknown.

But Zak chose the new and unknown.

After not very long, Zak reached a completely new ground.  It was unlike anything he had ever seen.  There were the birds he dreamed of but had never seen.  There was so much water but not moving like the steams of the Mountain.  Nothing looked like it had before, but everything was just like his dream.  Do you know where Zak was?  The Beach!  Zak had dreamed his way to the Beach and LOVED it.  He ran up and down the Beach and played with the new birds, scratched the new trees, and fished in the water for new fish.  Zak looked up and down the land and couldn't find another bear anywhere.

But Zak did not care.

He was where he dreamed.  Zak was where he prayed for.  He was a Beach Bear now.  He was in LOVE.

The Story of Ferdinand

Ferdinand ran to the middle of the ring and everyone shouted and clapped because they thought he was going to fight fiercely and butt and snort and stick his horns around.

But not Ferdinand.

When he got to the middle of the ring he saw the flowers in all the lovely ladies' hair and he just sat down quietly and smelled.

He wouldn't fight and be fierce no matter what they did.  He just sat and smelled...

So they had to take Ferdinand home.

And for all I know he is sitting there still, under his favorite cork tree, smelling the flowers just quietly.

He is very happy.

So no matter what everyone thought Ferdinand was "supposed" to do or "should" do... even despite what they tried in desperation to get him to do...  none of it was any matter to what Ferdinand wanted to do.  For what he knew to himself to be his ultimate point of joy and happiness was not in their view of him or their plan for what would make him awesome or amazing or "El Toro Ferroz Ferdinando!"  What Ferdinand knew then was what he had always known for himself: only his happiness mattered, and dash it all if everyone else ended up in tears trying to push him in another direction.

Find what makes you happy, your point of joy, find your love... and live in that love without regard to the whole world and their desperate and dire attempts to conform you to their ideal of how you should be happy.

Be a little less like how "they" say you should be and be a little more like Ferdinand...

Choose Your Love Frequency!

A physical representation of how vibration and frequency affect the world around us. Can you afford to continue vibrating low from a place of displeasure or unhappiness? Start now, choose now to Live In Your Love and vibrate that out to change the world's reponse to you!!! ♥

Live In Your Love

Live In Your Love means to find your passion, your joy... Find the Love in your job, in your hobbies, in your family life... Find this Love and your world swirls around you in this vortex of success, joy, happiness and abundance. Find this Love and Live in it!

Perspective

The size of the Sun is 1.3 million times larger than the Earth.

The size of the Earth is 1.44 quadrillion times larger than Man.

And yet the Sun can fit in the palms of my hand if only I change my perspective!

How you look at things changes everything...

Challenge: Post pictures of your PASSION!

Our Challenge to you is to post pictures of your passion, of the thing that captures your loving joy, that motivates you to love and expand in the world!

Tell the world, even if you've never told anyone before, exactly what it is that makes you tick, what makes your hair stand on end with excitement and passion.

Come to our wall http://www.facebook.com/liveinyourlove and post your pictures!!

♥

Do You Know Where You Want To Go?

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree.

"Which road do I take?" she asked.

"Where do you want to go?" was his response.

"I don't know," Alice answered.

"Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter."
     - Lewis Carroll

Do You Know Where You Want To Go?

It is imperative that you find your passion as soon as possible! Without it, you may find yourself trudging through your life, listlessly unaware, subdued to the societal expectations and restraints of possibilities. Is that really a way to live? Without experiencing, sharing, LIVING in the basked glory of your LOVE?

Find your passion, find your path. Make the choice to follow your heart.

I wonder what...

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing," he said.

art: Classic Pooh 03 By Nico by ~OrangeAsgard on deviantART

Validation, a movie

Quote - Dale Carnegie

Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all you heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours.~ Dale Carnegie

Monster.com - "When I Grow Up..."

I don't think that anyone ever really thought this... but as we are conditioned to forget our Love, our Passion, and resign them to just "hobbies," then we are relegated to live an unfulfilled existence...

emotions are your compass

joy
    boredom
        love
            depression
                happiness

what a range... so varied and appropriate at various points...

but what's the purpose? what does it all mean?

simply, my friends... emotions are your compass. pure and simple.

you could have listened to countless recordings, watched youtube for days, attended seminars and read every book... and it all comes back to the point that emotions are your compass. nothing else.

what does one use a compass for? it is a navigational instrument for determining direction... as this physical device shows you relative to the world around you, exactly what direction you are pointed, the same process happens with your emotions...

as your thoughts become things, whether you want them or not, your emotions show you which path you really truly (at the core of your being) want to travel down

huh? how?

well, if your thoughts are the roads, then you have a wealth of choices around you. you encounter new ones all the time. as you turn to face one choice after another, you have a signaling beacon inside of you... for this road, you feel joy. turn to the next and you feel sadness. yet another brings anger and another shows depression. each choice asks of your Source to signal the best path to take.

but the choice is always yours. and it is never wrong. for as you may choose a path that causes pain, you learn. and in choosing a path that brings love, you learn.

so the most important question you could ever ask yourself is one simple question and it should be asked of yourself at every juncture, no matter its seeming importance:
how do i feel?

ever confused and need help? not really a need to ask friends and family (although their responses will resonate the same as asking the question)... just ask:
how do i feel?

but relax. there are no bad decisions. your compass is always right, but the user may choose a different path. love the freedom. love the journey.

remember that button that gets pushed? and the snap anger that floods your body? you've stared down the road and had a very important advice from your compass. "how do i feel?" you ask... good or bad? let that decide your next step instead of following old patterns, learned through the years... don't walk your father's path, who walked his father and his father and his father's path... ask the question and consciously choose

but relax. there is no right or wrong. its your compass and your choice.

just love the journey.


art: compass by ~GavinTung on deviantART

you cannot live for someone else

your life is your own and not one other person's life.  contrariwise, everyone else has their own existence that you cannot control.

so please do not live your life for someone else.  do not try to fulfill their dreams or desires.  do not figure their plot into your script.  do not write their ending into your play.

for to do so, is like filling your hands with the water of your life and then trying to hand it over to them while they have hands cupped, already full with their own water...  further, you can never get their temperature of water right, and you will always scold or freeze your hands with the temperature of their "dreams"

nothing you do is more important than what you want, what you love and desire.

i fell into this pattern, as many many of us tend to, listening to our parents, wanting so much for love and affection, mistaking their guidance towards "the right" path as directions or instructions on how they can love you the most.

caution!  this path is a dangerous and treacherous one, filled with heartache and despair.  for you can never get another's dream perfect...  .::PAUSE::.  is it possible that someone else, someone who has never been inside your mind, someone who has never envisioned what makes your skin tickle, could know the exact details of your dreamy dreams?  then likewise, it would be a waste to expect you to truly know theirs.

and yet, many of us trudge along, resigned to the life long failing pursuit of pleasing someone else and their dreamy desires.  some so long that the dreamer has passed on and we have held on so long that we must "make it right."

how foolish...  remember the water?  so if you were to get the temperature just right and in the right way, exactly, perfectly... even IF (which you can't), but even IF...  well now they aren't even there anymore...  they don't even have HANDS for which you could drop their dreamy water in!!  how silly of us?!?!

so i promise you, you'll start feeling better once you let go...  stop living their life... stop living your lie...  start in this instant to live your love, just as you experience its ever unfolding and forever expanding intricacies...

don't worry about those other dreamers who would have you pause your dreams for theirs...  they may get angry for 5 minutes... or 5 days... or 5 years... but in the meantime, you'll exponentially increase your life's joyous loving experience...  and isn't that worth it?

i promise you'll love it...  open your cupped hands and let their scolding hot water drop.  grab the faucet and put your perfect temperature stream of dreams in your OWN hands!!

the glass half full... or is it?

so common is the saying "the glass half full."  implying that for the same exact object, there are two possible views, two possible observations that give way to the disposition of the observer:  half full from the positive viewpoint and half empty from the frowned upon negative stance.

a glass with half of its possible space containing presumably a liquid and the other half containing nothing.

or is it?

have we really been looking at this concept so poorly?  to simply break this image down to just two sides of the coin, quickly ushering all people to choose one side or the other?


have we really just not noticed what's really going on?  well, i don't blame us.  of course, so many for so long have pushed us to one side or the other, clearly (and sometimes hypocritically) trying to make the world a better place by choosing the "half full" option...  or at least wanting you to say you choose that option so we don't have to talk about it anymore!!


but clearly, we have missed the point.  i return to the description of the object in question... a glass with half of its possible space containing presumably water and the other half containing nothing.

"nothing."

indubitably, it is not "nothing."  it is air.  such a simple word used to describe a very complex mixture of several components, all intricately transfused in perfect fashion.  perfect enough to allow an internal combustion engine to propel our vehicles to work or across the world and perfect enough for every plant and animal to support life through its presence.

and just how complex?


well, 99.998% is comprised of Nitrogen (78.084%), Oxygen (20.947%), Argon (0.934%) and Carbon Dioxide (0.033%).  The remaining 0.002% is filled with Neon, Helium, Krypton, Sulfur Dioxide, Methane, Hydrogen, Nitrous Oxide, Xenon, Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxide, Iodine, Carbon Monoxide and Ammonia.


wow.  you can see that is a whole lot of not "nothing."


well, we didn't come here to have a science lesson, did we?  but the point is that while the simple observation is that the glass is half full and half empty...


...the glass is really completely full.


and so is the true observation of our lives that we miss.  oh, and we miss it so frequently and sometimes on such a grand scale that entire generations, entire lands of people, full cultures and societies are lost to some illusion that there was ever a choice between the half full or the half empty.


you never really had a choice.

your glass has always been completely full.

now, you may not have been able to see the other half, not with the naked eye.  it may have been completely invisible to everyone else as well; no taste, no touch, no smell or sound.  but it was there.  and in such a perplexedly precise fashion with all the right numbers and elements, waiting to be used correctly, waiting for you to notice it, to know of its existence and wholeheartedly keep faith that it is there.


so rest easy with your choices between the seemingly "bad" and the "good."  between the "positive" and the "negative."  because in the end (and in the beginning... and for everything in between) there is only you.  completely full.  and the materials and their percentages will change around a bit... you'll add in and tip out many things over the course of your stay in this existence, but it is always you, always completely full.


don't fret over finding this "missing piece."  there is no "other half" to complete you.  you always had it...  when you feel complete is when you have realized that you always had it.  that's when you can "see the air."

hopefully you will find it easier (even in the tiniest and almost immeasurable amount) to find acceptance of yourself in the here and now, completely for everything that you are.  a full cup, partly invisible to the world... the part that keeps us all alive and that is so powerful it can help rocket a Bugatti Veyron to 253mph...  wow!

...But Remember!

forgive... and forget..

     ...but remember!

am i losing my mind?  i just said to forget...  but now to remember as well?

yes.  giving forgiving...  and forgetting the emotion it brought up...  but always, always remembering the lesson learned...

i knowing that you are constantly attracting anything and everything you experience, you hold the title to responsibility for allowing this negative interaction into your existence...  and so it pushed you to a new perspective with which to view the world...  some lesson was learned (or at least you are now closer to the edge about to fall into the enlightenment of an idea)...  through the contrast of this experience, you have now expanded into a new beautiful shape and it cannot go backwards, you cannot stuff the exploding bomb back into the neat little casing...

and so you should remember where you were pushed...  how you acted and reacted...  and now how you forgave and forgot...  how you expanded, what you learned, how you now feel...

remember...  for the remembrance of the joy of forgiving will make it easier to hear your inspired connection call you softly away from those experiences again...  in this respect, remembering is a beautiful practice of allowing Source to move to you and through you...

Forgive... and Forget

we have all heard it from our elder and wiser ones... to forgive and to forget...  and just as we have generally tuned out their opinions on our music, our hairstyles and choices in friends, we also have kind of tossed this vital, peace-giving advice in the wastebasket.

but its worth reaching back in and un-crumpling the edges to take another read.

what seems just a few words to speak as easy advice to give is really a difficult and trying concept to receive, however.  forgiveness in our society feels more giving up or giving in than taking power and responsibility...  we are mostly taught or conditioned to feel that forgiveness is weakness and harboring negative emotions is powerful, which is almost as backwards as backwards can be.

remembering that our personal perspective is the only one we can control, forgiveness is taking back the reins of your life after a negative encounter.  without forgiveness, you are voluntarily relinquishing power to another, allowing their undesirable actions to dominate your thoughts, giving them an inordinate amount of presence in your energy...  and forgiveness calmly regains priorities like releasing a hot coal to fall swiftly into a well of cool water...

understanding that from our uniquely individual perspective that each person is really doing the best that they can with all that they have can really assist the process of forgiveness.  it is easier to forgive another when you begin to accept that you can almost never really understand their own unique view as you could agree that it would be virtually impossible for any other person to truly understand you and yours.  have you walked in their shoes through every one of their situations?  has your perspective expanded in the exact same shape and speed as theirs?  or is it possible that as different an orange from an elephant are you and every other person you have ever seen?

and so in comprehending that giving forgiving is not giving in or giving up but rather giving grace and accepting responsibility and letting go, with this knowledge you now have, it is easier now to find peace in yourself...  taking every opportunity to practice forgiving brings you closer and closer to that "hole in one" where you hardly think of the process of forgiveness and it purely, instinctively comes naturally and immediately to you...

and forgetting...  to release the past as just that...  an event forevermore gone to your touch... you cannot edit it, no changes, no fixing, no more...  so just release it...  you have forgiven and grasped back on to the reins of your part in this world, but at the same time it is imperative that you let go of the story...  sadly many can give forgiveness but cannot give up the image of the negative interaction...  and although they might have fixed their feelings on the original opponent, they transfix their gaze through broken glasses at others, using that oh so negative experience to justify new prejudices and injustices and lack of trusting and conspiracy theories-- "oh, the sky is falling!"

it does not do you any service to hold on to the feeling that whatever it was gave you.  if you can forgive, forget it happened in the sense that it will not skew the sunset you look forward for...


art - Infinity by Martin Graetz Photographie on deviantART

Snow...

...love, like a blanket of snow, softly floats down from the heavens to touch our lives, thawing as it whispers on to our warm bodies like tingly, unique reminders of how the love of our universe comes to us, comes through us; how just the simple warmth that we are born with can evolve our environment if we can just look skyward and allow the flakes to melt on our nose...



art - ::Snow:: by *Ginsui-rin

Money like air...

money is like air

your bank account is like your lungs

whenever panicked about a lack of air, you quickly take a breath

whenever there is no stress, you breathe in and out easily, effortlessly

try to feel the same way about money

don't despair because your bank account is small today... some people are shallow breathers, others have larger lungs

when athletes or musicians train to become better in their craft, they practice breathing to increase the capacity of their lungs

you can too

so just relax. when you're ready, you'll start taking deeper breaths and you will wonder why you scrambled around for so long stressing about when there is so so much "air" around you to take in!!!

Everything Is Personal...

everything is personal... and nothing is interpersonal.

conventionally, we tend to think that the interactions that we have with other people in this physical existence as having to do with the motives that one person has towards another. this, however, is fundamentally incorrect.

when i say that everything is personal, i mean that every action that any person takes part in is a direct result of their own feelings and emotions. primarily, it has nothing to do with the interpersonal relationship on which the action affects.

think of a recent interaction you had where you might have been considered the "victim." maybe someone you regarded as a friend made a comment or did something where you felt diminished or hurt. maybe you were attacked. you were betrayed.

in each situation, the "aggressor" was not taking your feelings into account before jumping into action. this you may agree with, but not for the right reasons. simply put, they only thought about the way they would feel before starting that interaction. even if they knew how you would react, they only ever cared about how they would feel.

this same principal works equally on positive interactions. when i say "i love you" because i know the feeling that it inspires, i know how the other person will feel when i say it, and i might like that i can affect how that other person feels... and so i care primarily that i will feel better by giving a good feeling to someone else. i don't give charity because it helps, i give charity because it makes me feel good to help.

don't let anyone fool you (or try to fool yourself): we all work on selfish motives. we only ever do anything in the attempt to fulfill our own basic needs.

now, it could be argued that when i deliberately start a fight, that i am affecting another person, maybe even deliberately so... and how could this not be an interpersonal motive?? true, there may be some ancillary or auxiliary effect, but primarily i was feeling inadequate, frustrated or disconnected... primarily, i had a personal motive to release anger...

and yet in a positive sense, even when i pause a moment in traffic to allow another motorist in my lane, this is the same principle. yes, there is an interpersonal effect that benefits another, but in my deepest intention, i allowed them in to raise my personal feeling, reveling in my magnanimous act; a smile washes my face even if the other did not appreciate it (which wouldn't matter to me anyways!)

the point i am trying to make is one that will serve your positive personal motives to feel better more of the time: when you find yourself the "victim" of a negative situation, try to judge the other person less harshly now, knowing that they are inherently not really trying to knock you down, but instead lift themselves up (even if it seems a bit misguided in their execution).

try to understand that their action was an attempt (in the greater sense) to feel better for themselves. which only creates one option for you: you must now rein in your control over your own emotions. you are better served trying to understand the other person, to let them "off the hook" more often, to receive the gift graciously, to smile at the compliment, to release the itch to scream when you are cut off in traffic... because its really, simply, always had nothing to do with you.

an additional benefit to this knowledge now is that after reading this, you might be a little bit more responsible of how you feel. maybe if you want to start a fight, you can sit back one more second and rethink if this is the best detour to a better feeling. could you find a better avenue to travel that won't send shock waves in a butterfly effect around your region?

Is Peace or War the Action?

Recently, I had re-posted an earlier entry about Light... Space... and Resistance wherein I discussed how there really is no such thing as Dark, but instead just Light (or The Presence of Light) and The Absence of Light and then extrapolated to say there really is less of the concept of Allowing and more of the action of Resistance (or The Presence of Resistance) and The Absence of Resistance.

...and this got me to thinking if there were any more seemingly "ordinary" things that we think about on a daily basis that this concept could apply to.

Peace
Many people ask for Peace on Earth or World Peace as if there were some action required for it, and this immediately strikes me as weird, in the same way I approached my previous entry. Peace, whether it be by and for the masses, or between you and your husband or brother who teases you or neighbor who plays music too loudly too late at night, is not the action.

To illustrate, pause for just one moment and think of YOU and ME. Think about our interaction at this moment. Are we doing anything to maintain Peace? The answer is: no. In fact, Peace is our natural state that requires no action at all, no thinking, no tip-toeing around to manage, careful not to upset the delicate scale that could throw each side into an all-out brawl.

War
Rather, War is the introduction of Resistance into the equation where Resistance is the action, is the hard part. When Peace begins as the natural state and one feels Resistance, there is an immediate discord that breeds pain, intolerance, hate and fear, radiating from the individual with a sort of penetrating quality that infuses into almost every action and interaction. War takes the appreciation of the contrasting opinions or desires and misinterprets, translates it into clashing sides, one against the other, feuding, rallying for position to win. War is the action of Resistance against the natural state of Peace that is always and forever available, present and flowing towards you.

The concept that we would even wish or hope or have to do any action for Peace is just plain bonkers because it requires no action whatsoever. Try to slow down right now and stop. Cease action, stop the mind-chatter thinking, halt the nervousness about stillness and just quiet the mind in a beautiful feeling-place of love. Isn't this Peace?? Isn't it, in this place of doing, saying, thinking, being, having nothing, ISN'T THIS PEACE??

So the next time I say Peace On You, know that what I really mean is Try to War a little less, Try to Resist a little less, Try to be a little Easier on yourself and those around you, Try to Relax and find the beautifully inherent point of Love that resides within us all in a really Easy place of not acting in War. I just didn't want to write all that! :-)

Attachment "Measures the Distance"

have you ever felt the more you want something, the more you notice that it isn't there?

there is a reason. this concept is simple when you can see it from the outside. the reason is 'attachment'

attachment "measures the distance" between where you are and where you want to be

and this encompasses attachment to things you want, experiences you desire, how you want to look, who you want to talk to, where you want to live or visit, lovers you want in your bed...

the more that you envision what you want from a place of not having, you count the ticks on the ruler between you and whatever it is. and the more intense your desire, the more skewed your perception of how far it is... the more acute the angle of your vision distorts the distance, making it seem so so far away

there is hope, however. find peace in the knowing that you can bring your perspective to a place less distorted. it may take some time, it may take some practice, but it is really easy.

the key is to detach.

lessen your hold on the "how" it will happen and focus more on "how it would feel to have it"

release your grasp on the "why it should happen" and focus more on the "why it would feel good to have it"

and find peace in the knowing that the way you used to do it (the so so tough way of wanting and not having and noticing so much of the not having) has brought you to read this that may have planted even the tiniest seed of understanding...

...can you feel the difference now? can you feel the shift?

Light... Space... and Resistance

(originally posted on July 5, 2009)

I believe I have come upon a revelation for myself... let's hope that you can share in the exuberance of my experience. Over the past few days I have toyed with the idea of sharing this idea I have stumbled across, but as I keep revisiting the notion of sharing, I have decided that is what I shall do.

A few days ago, I was in the shower... thinking... as I usually do... Something that I have been thinking for a long time, a singular idea, had transformed itself-- no, mutated-- and rolled into some recent knowledge.

Let me explain:

For years, I have understood the physics of light and heat... We use words like "Bright" and "Dark" or "Warm" and "Cold" but when you break it down... there really only is "Light" and "The Absence of Light" or "Heat" and "The Absence of Heat"

Well, let's think on this... In outer space, we can see Light coming from a star or sun, or reflecting off a planet or moon... but otherwise, there is The Absence of Light. "Darkness." "Space." Likewise, in outer space, there is no atmosphere to hold on to the radiation emitted from the Sun. So astronauts feel comfortable in their suits in the presence of this Heat... until they round to the back side of the moon where they are in The Absence of Heat.

So I came to this thought with the soapy water dribbling down my face one morning and it clicked into the idea of Resistance. Many people find things "hard" in their life because they are resisting something, anything, everything. And I have found the teachings of Abraham-Hicks and many, many others to explain that in the process of Allowing, you have found The Absence of Resistance. This is "The Secret." Allowing what you are Attracting.

And I use the words this way to convey the relative action involved... Resistance is the action... The Absence of Resistance is the goal... to Allow... and thats really the "easy" part..

To Resist is to see the distance from where you are to where you want to be... to Resist is to feel bad about not having your desires in the present...

But to find The Absence of Resistance is to see your desires and relax in knowing, having faith, that they are coming and on the way down the easiest path to you... to Allow is to sit back on this journey, this exhilarating ride of life and ENJOY...

To Resist is to wake up, already frustrated with your day before its started, to yell at people in traffic, mumble judgments about people and the world around you, spill the coffee on your shirt, get yelled at by the boss, smear mustard on your pants at the lunch that didn't taste good, get snickered at by coworkers, get a ticket on the way home and have the power be out on your street all night long...

and while the unfamiliar may look around and observe these as things that happen TO YOU, the familiar understand that your attitude, your action of Resistance is what started the whole process... your action brought you to the frustrations...

To Allow is to wake up, loving the sun on your face, the refreshing drops of water across your skin as you easily get ready in the perfect pace to be on time, driving effortlessly through the world to get where you want, finding the perfect music on the radio, seeing humorous advertisments, compliments at work, good food for lunch, and good television and books to read at home with a loving family to help keep you active and feeling loved.

You see, to RESIST is the hard part... it causes the pain... it is the action...
You see, to ALLOW is the easy part... it allows the joy... it is the non-action...

So... my advice today (and everyday) is to stop the hard action and relax into the easy non-action.

Allow yourself to love and see the loving nature of the world around you. Allow yourself to envision the world as you want it and have faith that its already on its way, piece by piece. And it now requires no more action. Not one bit.

Travel Down The Path So Worn

given the option, most will choose to walk the worn path...

many of you will choose the way already traveled by many others-- the foliage and debris already pushed to the side by the pioneers long passed and several more of their followers...

with loose dirt and snow packed down into the earth by footstep after footstep, the travel is readily made simple, almost effortless for the journey ahead...

no guessing where to turn or which direction to take-- the path is easily seen out for thousands of yards. almost no surprises arise. no complications. no imagination. no concern.

it is easy to expect that many young ones will follow the path, their little feet and quick steps on steady ground trailing behind well-traveled boots... not knowing much beyond the path with such a short focus on just small distance forward...

but is it really you? were you meant to follow the path of so many others? to stay in the line with the unquestioned direction of the masses, never straying into the cold, barren landscape?

having walked the path for so long, do you continue because of habit? because of comfort? because of fear?

know in comfort that but a handful venture off the path worn in the earth... and not many for long, returning shortly to the "easy" way...

no doubt, it is tougher to take those uncertain steps into the soft snow, unsure of the depth, unknowing of the hazards... blazing one's own trail requires faith, strength and direction...

but you are not alone... know that there are many, many people are waiting for a new path... waiting, dreaming of a new direction... make peace in the knowing that there are hundreds, no thousands (maybe more), that will change quickly to follow a new path, your new path...

once started, keep the passion... if you tire, turn around and see the long line of those behind you, in support, in peace, in love of your new path which you have made easy for them... look into the eyes of the young ones who could not have attempted such an enterprise and feel their gratitude for the steps you take before them that allow their little feet to touch the stable ground...

make peace in the knowing that you will get funny, disappointed stares (and shaking heads and foul words) from those who turn back to see you on your own way... (pay them no mind)... know that you are loved for straying from the worn path by those behind you that will get to experience ease for your struggle... love the knowing that you will inspire many new paths branched from your own...

try it today

right now

take that first step

no matter if you fall back into the worn path once or twice or thirty times... at this point, that worn trail is so wide and banked that many people and many times, most will fall back in line...

but take the step nonetheless

for each next one will feel easier, more invigorating

try it today

right here, right now

i'll see you when we cross in the bleak, hazy and uncharted wilderness... and i'll have my arms open with love for your perseverance...

push the limits to succeed? or just go with the flow?

a friend posted a quote by Bernard Edmonds:

“To dream anything that you want to dream. That's the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do. That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed.”

...to which I replied:

"nice... but i think i don't have to test my limits to succeed... i think success is on its way all the time, like standing in the middle of an endless shower of shooting stars, perfect burning embers, radiantly storming into our lives~~ I just have to have the courage to turn with the flow, hop on and enjoy the journey..."

...and so i pose the question:

are you pushing your limits? are you pushing against the wall to see what you're made of? to see exactly how far the wall doesn't move when you push against it, to get more of the same with the struggle of always trying, trying, trying to do more, get more, see more, be more.

or are you slowing down to realize the stream of energy that effortlessly and continuously abounds around you? are you noticing the radiance and beauty of all that is, just ho-humming along in your direction waiting for you to notice it, to grab hold of the reins and blast off faster than you could have ever imagined?

don't worry which way you are moving... i write this and still i do not know where i am! but i am feeling that neither is right or wrong... but i can tell you which one is easier and will feel better.... :-)

...

calories

calories.

counted high. cut down low.

used to measure our self worthiness. judged how we care for ourselves.

frequently admonished against the pleasure when "out of bounds." rarely commended for the struggled accomplishment of "staying in line."

we denounce them as evil-doers, assistants to the demise of our heath. scarcely ever extolled as the life-force with which we survive.

and exceedingly, we attach doomsday proportions to such a neutral tool in our lives. perhaps there is more to this phenomenon than just the latest sweeping health craze. is it rather that we have come to accept despair, discouragement, trials and tribulations?

have we really lost hope in the good of life and resorted to wearing shaded glasses all the time, denying most of the light in our lives from reaching our eyes?

maybe the first step is to look around and notice that it is not all that bad. maybe the first action is to change the words. maybe we need to see calories as the beneficial energy source that they are.

today, i change what calories mean to me. today, calories become life-force. today, calories become god-source.

today, calories become good.

oh what exciting changes this will bring to other words in my life.

...

contrast

life is a curious thing, bringing much contrast to our daily senses

what will you choose when you are given something unwanted?

curse it...
........or.........
praise it...

fair or right?

is it better to be fair or be right?
is it better to share or to fight?

many years ago, i would have chosen the latter option on both... but i feel now there are easier ways to deal with the world.
and i feel that the word "better" has changed meaning for me to "easier" in that "easy" is what i strive for.

many times, headstrong, i would form opinions and battle to defend-- to destroy opposition-- to win every fight. in fact, i sought out fights.

many mornings i would don my armor, preparing for a day of tumultuous arguments to win win win.

today, i rest.
now, feeling what i know is true, i can rest.
it is easier for me to see fairness... to feel the love in sharing... to know the peace of collaboration.
every interaction i have, i can feel my calm transfer and i no longer battle.
my energy assuages apprehension in ways unimaginable to the young soul. no need any longer for any battle, to attack or defend.
there is no right or wrong, only different, a contrast i welcome like the morning sun's kiss on my cheek after a restful slumber.
there is no requirement for my battle-worn armor to defend, for there is none that exists who can slay love.

tonight, i rest.
now, sitting in serenity, a lullaby of love wraps her arms around me.
all i can feel is the warm glow of peace in the word "easy"-- the choice i have made to see the less resistant path.
i choose not "better" in the way my younger confused and tortured self once did, but rather "easy." and i look back through the pages of life at a beautiful contrast that has swept me godspeed to where i currently lay.

peace for me. love for you.