Michael

Amazon Kindle

Erica gave me a really fantastic gift this year for Xmas. It’s the Amazon Kindle. I’m finding it to be one of the coolest products since the iPhone. In fact, it is like an iPod. As you know with an iPod you can have your entire music library on a device that fits in your palm. The Amazon Kindle is the same for your book library.

You can store about 200 books, newspapers, magazines, blogs and etc. on this wireless reading device. More if you add additional SD memory. Since I only just started using one, I’ve downloaded a total of two books to mine. It took less than a minute to download each digital book version. Most new releases and New York Times best sellers are $9.99. All Amazon purchases for the Kindle are stored on the Amazon servers in your account so you never lose them.

It’s incredibly easy to read and uses something called electronic paper with digital ink. The high resolution screen is not backlit like a regular monitor. Your eyes don’t tire as easily like they do with a computer monitor. The text is very crisp and navigating from page to page is very easy. It’s like reading a paper book.

The device always remembers where you where last reading and when you go back to your book, it automatically takes you to the last page read. I love that. Also, you can easily highlight sections that interest you, make notes and annotations, bookmark pages for future reference and clip entire articles that you can later download to your personal computer.

The free WhisperNet wireless network works flawlessly. You don’t need to find a hotspot as it accesses a high speed network like advanced cell phones use. I feel like I have stepped into the future. I learned how to use it in about 10 minutes, but then spent another hour learning the finer details. The Amazon Kindle is very intuitive and fun to use.

The battery life is great. If you leave the wireless off you can read for about a week until a recharge is necessary. If you leave the wireless on, you will need to recharge every couple of days. Battery recharge only takes about 2 hours. Bottom line; it is extremely portable and energy efficient.

I don’t believe I will ever get rid of real books as I love them too much, but now when I travel I can have an entire library at my disposal in a device that weighs about 10 ounces.

Thanks Erica!

Michael

Snow Buddha

When snow falls, nature listens. – Antoinette van Kleeff

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? – J.B. Priestley

We had a good sized winter storm yesterday and it continued with snow showers and flurries for most of today. When we awoke this morning, the world had been transformed by the white powdery substance.

It was stunning to go outside and see how much snow had piled up. I especially like to find where the snow has concentrated. Sometimes it can be in the most unusual places and in many different ways. I love the snow that builds up in the crooks of trees where stems meet trunk. Something about that is quite beautiful to me.

We worked hard this morning to dig out 4 cars, part of a sidewalk and driveway. Strange as it may seem, I actually like it. It’s hard work but it’s an excuse to be out in the snow.

The most amazing site for me was the Buddha head in Erica’s backyard. I started watching it last night when the snow was falling very fast. This morning it was quite stunning.

I love the snow.

Check out 12 more photos from this morning.

Michael

Trust your hunches. They’re usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level. – Dr. Joyce Brothers

Hunches may be misunderstood but they are important. Where the information comes from may be mysterious, but it is a vital part of lives. Our sixth sense can guide us in ways that our five senses can’t.

I think hunches are a combination of what Dr. Joyce Brothers believes and our intuition. I believe our intuition comes from an even deeper place. Some may call it the soul, higher self, source and a host of other names. The name is not important. The fact that something outside our normal processing of external data exists shouldn’t be the debate.

We notice it in simple ways. For example, when you know who is calling you on the phone or your think of someone and then meet them “accidentally” somewhere.

But we also get inspirations, ideas and direction seemingly from “out of the blue” sometimes. These can be life changing moments and I think should be followed to see what happens.

You can increase the recognition of your intuition by meditating regularly (yes, I say this all the time), learning to focus more on the present moment, reducing periods of anger and complaining, looking for ways to feel better at any given point in time and learning to relax with the flow of your life.

As you do these things more and more, you will find that your inspirations, hunches and “light bulb” moments increase.

Have a great day!

Michael

I have finally completed all I needed to do to prepare for the Xmas holiday next week. All the presents I plan to give have been gathered. All the preparations have been made for traveling this weekend.

I start looking forward to the holidays about a week or two before they happen. I start remembering all the fun things we have done in the prior years. I remember all the gifts that were given and received. I remember all the movies we picked to see on Xmas day (It’s a tradition for us).

I remember the piles of food that were consumed. I remember the new additions to the family experiencing Xmas for the first time. I remember holiday decorations brightening up the rooms. I remember that some years were really cold while others were almost summer like. I remember the games we played as a family.

I remember feeling content just being in the same room with everyone else. No need to do anything. No expectations. Only enjoyment in sharing another holiday with the people you care about.

I’m ready to add more memories to the wonderful ones I still carry.

Michael

The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion or ethnic background, is that we all believe we are above-average drivers. – Dave Berry

Believe it or not, of the many things in the world that appear to cause frustration, my personal choice is “bad drivers”. I get frustrated very quickly with poor drivers. In fact for many years now, it has been the single most annoying event in my life. Funny that, as I lead an incredibly happy existence in all major areas of my life, but get me on the road with a bunch of terrible drivers and I seem to forget all of that in less than 5 minutes.

But, I’ve been working on it.

Many times I react like it’s a personal attack when in fact the other driver’s seemingly bad habits have nothing to do with me. I’ve been working on bringing that fact to my awareness which is helping to prevent a reaction of frustration.

I also have been focusing on consciously relaxing while I drive. I listen to my favorite music or an audio CD. This helps as a distraction. I try to be more present in the moment by focusing on what I’m doing (i.e. driving) and not worried about what other people are doing. I’m working on being less in a hurry. I’m trying to view each auto trip as a journey and not a goal to reach.

Apparently all of this effort on my part is starting to work. Yesterday, I had one of the most pleasant and blissful driving experiences I can remember in a very long time. I left my apartment around 5:00 p.m. (rush hour traffic) to drive down and see Erica. Right after I got on the road, someone pulled out in front of me causing me to slam on my brakes. I quickly brushed it off and didn’t react. That was a big Wow for me. The rest of the trip was like being transported through solid matter. All the traffic seem to simply move out of my way. I made every light. I went at just the right speed. I encountered no issues for the remainder of the entire 40 minute drive.

It was a major breakthrough. I had a similar driving experience today. I might be onto something.

Have a great day!

Michael

If you don’t know what you want, you won’t recognize it when you get it. – Author unknown

What do you want? What would you liked to see changed in your life or world? What desires do you keep hidden from yourself? What do you like?

Usually we get to the knowledge of what we want by looking at what we don’t want. It’s a natural path from something not wanted to something wanted. That’s good because we constantly have a plethora (love this word) of things we want.

What happens though is that we tend to focus on what we don’t want, what we don’t have and what we don’t like. Not only does this keep us in a negative frame of mind but it literally prevents us from obtaining what we want. In a negative state we miss those little magical opportunities that come our way. Our creative mind dramatically slows down. Our perspective narrows which means our world of possibilities becomes constricted.

How do you get out of that type of thinking?

First, turn your thoughts to what you want or desire; i.e. away from what you don’t want or like. Expand those thoughts in your head by imagining what it would be like to have what you want. It’s important to generate positive emotions; hope, curiosity, happiness and etc.

Secondly, ask yourself “Why do I want this thing?” Stay away from answers that bring you back to the lack; i.e. don’t say I want this thing because I don’t have it. Instead focus on the benefits and what this new desire will bring you (e.g. freedom, happiness, fun, satisfaction, etc.). Be as specific as possible. Really get into the “why” of your desire. Relish in the positive answers you generate.

You will quickly find that your mood will elevate and attitude will be more positive. Try and do this technique every time you get into thoughts of what you don’t have, don’t like or don’t desire. You’ll start to notice your life changing in ways you previously imagined.

Have a great day!

Michael

You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. – Henry David Thoreau

I’ve been consciously working (well that might not be the most accurate word to use) on exploring and extracting as much happiness as possible out of each moment. When I’m successful, it’s quite incredible.

I’m finding that the thinking part of my mind needs to quiet down, relax or stop completely. I’ve been consistently meditating twice a day since October 13 and I believe that is having a tremendously positive influence on calming my mind.

I’ve been practicing being 100% into each moment. That has been somewhat challenging as my mind wanders sometimes, but I bring it back to the present every time I notice. I’m also focusing on every detail while I’m awake. Again, the wandering mind needs to be continually refocused, but I believe the more I do it, the easier and more rewarding it will be.

What I’m finding with this “experiment” is that my life feels richer, calmer, more interesting, happier and it feels good to be alive.

I’ll update as my experience continues.

Have a great day!

Michael

Most of us tend to suffer from ‘agenda anxiety’ the feeling that what we want to say to others is more important than what we think they might want to say to us. – Nido Qubein

Seek first to understand, then to be understood. – Stephen Covey

Sometimes we are so busy with our own internal dialogue that it gets in the way of understanding what someone else is saying, doing or how they are behaving. If we could just step back a little and try to see from another’s perspective, we may gain a different perspective of our own. At the very least we may gain some knowledge that was previously hidden because of our own narrow focus.

Putting ourselves in the other’s shoes goes a long way to building trust along with a deeper understanding. We all have certain people that push our buttons. These are the people to start trying to understand better. I’ve found over the years that when someone is bothering me, I can almost always find something similar in myself that I don’t like. It never fails. You have to learn to be open with yourself, but if you look closely at yourself, you may be surprised. Difficult people can usually be fantastic learning experiences, if we want them to be.

You may find your lack of understanding and even anger with difficult people has nothing to do with them at all. For example, you may not enjoy being around controlling people. You may discover that you are more of a controlling person than you previously knew. Things that irritate us are signals for us to look inside and see what is going on.

Next time you are angry at someone or don’t understand them, step back. Stop thinking for a moment. Listen closely to what they are saying and take a detailed inventory of your own thoughts and feelings on the situation. You’ll grow from the experience.

Michael

The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself. – Alan Alda

If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. – Carl Sagan

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties. – Eric Fromm

I played guitar today for over 4 hours with a friend. As I stated last week, it’s quite amazing how well our styles, musical goals and creativity blend together. The music just seems to click when we play.

My friend’s girlfriend listened while we played the last song of the day. She asked us how we knew which part each of us was going to play. She genuinely was curious how we figured it out as it wasn’t written down. I looked over at my friend. We both had the expression of “we have no idea.”

I told Allie that it just flows. It just seems to work out. There is not a lot of thinking going on. That’s what happens. You get the basic structure down, have a bag of tools in the form of technique and then just stop thinking so much. You have fun. You revel in the enjoyment of the sounds. Everything starts to flow.

I’m having enough fun playing that my “guard” is let down, my mind is not judging too much and because of that, the creative window is opening up. This isn’t about wanting to play in front of a crowd or anything like that. It’s about two musicians letting the creative energy flow in a basement. It’s about the fun and expression. Mistakes are just learning points. The enjoyment comes from the sounds produced.

Creativity comes in many forms. Music is just one. So, don’t feel you are not creative if you can’t play an instrument. We all have creativity that is only a thought away whether it be art, music, writing, problem solving, photography, interior design, cooking, gardening, database design, singing and hundreds of other areas. It only means we must put ourselves in a position to let that energy flow. Typically, the best place to start is with something you love to do.

Let it flow. You’ll be happier because of it.

Michael

Today I was working with a friend on another writing project and she came up with an interesting exercise. I think it is excellent in helping to shift your mind away from negative thoughts.

It’s called 3 Things and basically you come up with questions that have 3 positive answers. For example:

1. What 3 positive words would you use to describe yourself?
2. What 3 positive words would you like to hear from someone else when they give you a compliment?
3. What are 3 positive things about living on planet Earth?
4. What 3 people have most positively influenced you?
5. What 3 positive things did you learn from each of them?
6. Describe 3 things that bring you the most joy.
7. If you could do anything right now, what 3 things would you choose to do?
8. What 3 things would you most enjoy learning?
9. What 3 places do you dream about traveling to?
10. Describe 3 positive things about the place you live.

You get the picture. It works even better if you write them down in a notebook or journal. But, if you are driving and can’t write, thinking about them is fine. In just a short amount of time you will find that your mood shifts significantly towards feeling better. You can also play this game with your kids. It can turn into a something fun you do at the dinner table or on a long trip.

Try this simple and quick technique next time you need a boost.

Have a great day!

Michael