You may or may not have heard of something called The Tarot. It’s an ancient deck of cards containing a multitude of universal symbols and meanings used to help the reader understand a particular problem or to discern the future. Whether or not these cards can do what they are used for is not the point. I mention it because there is an interesting card in this deck called The Devil. Immediately, the word devil brings certain assumptions, beliefs and fears to many people. Put those to the side for a moment.
On the Devil card, is a devilish looking creature, really half-man, half goat; i.e. a Pan-like creature sitting on a throne. He is a powerful god-like creature who appears to be controlling several humans beneath him. They are chained around their necks. The Devil holds the chains and it looks like he is controlling them, but the appearance of control is an illusion. If you look closely at the chains, you will see that the collars are larger than the heads. In other words, each of them could remove their chains at any moment in time and be free. But as long as they believe that the Devil is holding them, they stay in misery.
External sources do not prevent our freedom. External sources do not prevent our happiness. External sources do not control us. We can always remove the chains at any moment. We’ve just need to remember that we can.
The result of removing these chains brings freedom from inhibitions, freedom from being controlled by our tendencies towards excess and the ability to choose our level of happiness. The chains that bind us from being happy are only beliefs not reality. To quote Abraham-Hicks, beliefs are just thoughts that we think all the time. Change the thought. Change the belief. Increase your happiness.
Michael
Do not wait; the time will never be just right. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along. – Napoleon Hill
Erica and I just got back from the movie, The Bucket List. Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson play the characters Carter Chambers and Edward Cole. Both have terminal diagnoses and decide to fulfill together what they call a bucket list; i.e. things you want to do before you kick the bucket.
The acting was superb and writing was clever, introspective and personal. There are many moving parts to the film. Some will see this movie as predictable but they are missing the message. And that’s to not wait until you run out of time to do and say the things you want or need to do. Don’t wait. Time flies by and goes even faster the older you get.
I’ve had a similar list for many years, but I have a less than a clever title. I simply call it my “100 Things To Do Before I Die” list. I’ve already completed many items and still have many to go. I’m going to bring out that list again, review it, modify or delete some and then add a few more. I’ve written before that I don’t want any what ifs at the end of my life. I want answers regardless of the outcome.
How about you? Do you have some things you want to do or try? Do you have some things that need to be said or done? How about writing them down and start fulfilling those hopes and dreams now. The only requirement is that you try.
Have a great day!
Michael
This weekend marks a huge step and beginning for me. Nat and I have started to write our book. I mean seriously write it. We’ve been planning and preparing for several months. We both blocked off this weekend to start the process. Even though writing a book is on my list of things to do before I die, I don’t believe I really ever saw it happening. Apparently, I did. 
What has been so incredible is that the process has been much easier to get going than either of us had imagined. We’ve had quite an amazing day as word after word poured out of us and into to the word processor. The outline/structure brainstorm took less than 90 minutes. It was a wonderful thing.
Our excitement level is quite high because the book is more real now that we have it started. It’s not just an idea anymore, but a real project with tangible results.
I’m honored to work on this writing project with Nat. His ceaseless help in my writing endeavors has been a great inspiration to me. And he has helped me find at least one of my writing voices. Thanks Nat.
Well, back to work. Hmmmm….It doesn’t really feel like work as we are having so much fun. And that’s what it’s all about, right?
Have a great day!
Michael
Today marks the 365th consecutive post I’ve done on this blog. It’s really hard to believe that it’s been one year since I made that commitment. There were many days that I struggled to get anything written at all. On numerous days, the topic “appeared” to me 5 minutes before I wanted to write. Other days generated 1 or 2 weeks’ worth of posts in an hour or less. I never knew what would happen. It was fascinating.
It’s been a challenging road, but I don’t have any regrets. I’ve grown immensely from this project. I have no idea whether it has helped other people or not. Of course, I hope my introspections, thoughts, random muses, observations and elaborations on my belief system have triggered positive thoughts or changes in others. Ultimately, though, it’s simply about being out there, exposing my inner thoughts and processes while searching for continual happiness
I promised myself on Jan. 1st, 2008 that I would continue writing as the personal benefits are priceless. 2008 is already showing great promise for a variety of things. I’ll be writing about those changes as I experience them.
For all of you that have continued to read this blog, I thank you. How about some comments every now and then? Don’t be shy.
Have a great day! Here’s to another 365 posts.
Michael
For me, change is in the air; probably big changes in the work/career part of my life. Sometimes that can be challenging especially for people that don’t like change. But a lot of times, well maybe all the time, change is good. Change is the fuel that makes your life take a turn that you may really need.
I fundamentally believe that change comes from within. In other words, shifts in thinking, beliefs, and thought processes create the external change in our lives. It really starts with us. This type of thinking has caused a fundamentally shift from a belief system that saw the world as an object that affected me to the belief that I affect the world. It has also created a sense of freedom and ultimately control over my life.
But, having that belief doesn’t always make big changes easier. So, sometimes I visualize the change as a wave. I associate ocean waves to fun, so I mentally pretend to “ride these waves.” It’s a much more relaxing feeling about the change. It allows events to naturally unfold and keeps me calmer.
Sometimes the stress level can get a little out of control, but when I use my visualization technique all becomes calmer.
I look forward to the future while I continue to ride the wave.
Have a great day!
Michael
I was talking to my friend Nat today. He had read an interesting article that stated we think 60,000 thoughts per day. But as mind boggling as that sounded, the fact that 90% of those thoughts had been thought before was even stranger. Only 10% of our thoughts are new each day. It seems like such a waste of thought power.
As I thought about it (no pun intended), I began to wonder about how people get into routines and ruts. I believe this may be the answer. If we are thinking almost the same thoughts everyday, it would make sense that we get into habitual routines and have trouble changing activities that we repeat every day.
Experts (do you always wonder who these people are?) say that changing your routine is a very good thing. It helps to condition the brain and psyche making it easier to get out of ruts. Some say that changing your routines will help to keep you motivated and increase the overall wellbeing of your mind.
Here are some simple yet effective ways to shake things up. Remember it doesn’t have to be a big change. Small ones work just as well.
- Go a different way to work than your typical route.
- Brush your teeth with the other hand.
- Re-arrange your furniture.
- Wear some different clothes.
- Try a new hairstyle.
- Eat something different for dinner.
- If you normally read the paper in the morning, try taking a walk instead.
- If you exercise one way, like always jog, why not ride a bike for a change?
- Try a new author.
- Watch a different television program.
- Read instead of watching television.
- Take a ride to a part of your city that you have never been to.
- If you drink the same coffee drink everyday, try tea instead or a different coffee drink.
- Listen to music you’ve never heard before.
- If you typically play card games, try board games for a change of pace.
Use your imagination and make small changes in your life on a regular basis. It will help change those repetitive thoughts you’re thinking, give your mind something new to think about and help you adapt to change more easily.
Have a great day!
Michael
No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. – Lin Yutang
I love to travel. But, no matter where I go or what I do, it really feels good to get back home. It’s a place to recharge and get ready to travel again. It doesn’t take me long to be ready for my next adventure.
The return home is quite an important part of my travel process. Without the return home, I don’t know if I could call what I do travel. But, seriously, part of me is always home. It’s where my roots are and where I get my energy back after a long trip. It’s where I can completely relax and be myself.
One of the ways I’ve learned to cope or deal with a lot of travel is that I make wherever I’m staying my home. I call it home. I make it feel like home. I bring a few personal items with me. So, sometimes people ask me where I’m from and I tell them what hotel I’m staying at. I usually catch myself, but sometimes I don’t. Most find it humorous.
Anyway, I’m back. I’m missing my daughter already, but I get to see Erica. Balance is restored.
I leave again on Friday.
Have a great day!
Michael
Our faults irritate us most when we see them in others. – Pennsylvania Dutch Proverb
Do you ever stop to wonder when you feel irritation towards someone else? Have you stopped to examine the fault that is bothering you and objectively looked inside to see if you posses the same “fault?”
Generally speaking, what bothers us the most in others is something that we unconsciously possess, judge ourselves harshly or don’t like about ourselves. Because we don’t like that aspect of our self, we are tuned into that issue with others. We see it clearly on the outside, but find it difficult to see on the inside.
It’s really important when we have a reaction to someone that we quickly begin to look at the exact issue that is causing us grief. Next, we should immediately and objectively (this can be the hard part) look inside ourselves and determine if we have the same fault or something close. Our reactions to others are almost never about the other person. It’s all about internal issues that we are not facing.
Don’t forget that sometimes a perceived fault of another person triggers something quite different inside also. For example, someone who is not conforming to rules may trigger a response if you are a controlling type person. Or maybe somebody does something that you don’t like but you don’t speak up for yourself. The anger may be about you not speaking up and nothing at all about the other person.
Dig deep, you’ll eventually find the reason why you are upset. It will not be the other person.
Michael
Certain is it that there is no kind of affection so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter. In love to our wives there is desire; to our sons, ambition; but to our daughters there is something which there are no words to express. – Joseph Addison
A daughter may outgrow your lap, but she will never outgrow your heart. – Author Unknown
Well, it’s been a short but fun filled trip to California. Most importantly I was able to spend some time with my daughter. Even though we talk regularly, it’s been too long since we last saw each other. I’m not going to let another eight months go by without seeing her again.
Our family is small but close. A little over 10 years ago, we moved to California and started a new life. It was quite challenging to begin with. We had to get adjusted to our new home, find new friends and make our place in this big state.
There were many challenging times, but neither of us gave up. Our bond was strong enough to help us get through even the most difficult moments. We’ve also seen some incredbile sights and done some amazing things.
As I look back over the last decade I can’t find a moment that I would really want to change. We both survived her teenage years and that’s a good thing. The rest was easy.
I’m very thankful for my daughter and I look forward to sharing many more years with her.
Michael
Many of our fears are tissue paper thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them. – Brendan Francis
Not a single person has ever accomplished anything of significance without first feeling scared to death! – Rick Beneteau
Fearlessness is not the absence of fear. It’s the mastery of fear. It’s about getting up one more time than we fall down. – Arianna Huffington
To overcome fear, act as if it were impossible to fail, and it shall be. – Brian Tracy
As I’ve been working through some long held fears this week, I realized how important keeping the momentum going can be. In other words, as you ride the wave of overcoming one fear, go ahead and work on another. You’ll find it to be a little easier because of the confidence you’ve received from recently working through that prior fear.
Who knows how many fears you could get through if you follow this momentum idea of mine. I know that by just working on the couple of fears I’ve recently written about, I feel lighter and better able to cope with the rest of my life. It’s a strange but good feeling to be suddenly whisked away from a fear based reality to something much brighter and less filled with anxiety.
Remember fears are just negative beliefs and beliefs are just thoughts we think a lot. So, one mode of working on fears is to change our negative thoughts. Sometimes a little prodding from ourselves can help; i.e. doing the exact thing that we are fearful of. This shakes up the negative thought pattern and allows us to put in something much more positive which effectively breaks down the fear.
Get to work on dissolving your fears. There’s no time like right now.
Have a great day!
Michael
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