Michael

In the final analysis, the hope of every person is simply peace of mind. – Dalai Lama

This evening I felt peace of mind. This morning and the day before was the opposite. I had a huge presentation at 9:00 a.m., but with all my knowledge and experience (slightly facetious tone) I still had to deal with stress that the upcoming meeting was causing. I typically do fine in presentations but for several reasons, I had made this one bigger than it really was.

That is the message. In my mind, I made the presentation bigger than it was. It was only in my mind. Not reality. Not the truth. Not the way things are. Just in my mind, but it felt real. In fact, it was real because I believed it was. So, as I went to the meeting, I began to change my thoughts to elicit a calmer response in my body. In just a few minutes, I was feeling better and ready for the meeting. That’s the power of our thoughts.

I continued the calm thinking through the evening. What a better place to be. Peace of mind comes from inside; your thoughts, your beliefs, your hopes, your dreams. I will eventually remember all of this.

Have a great day!

Michael

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

I was so in the present moment the past was no longer part of me. – Laurel Hoodwrit

What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment.  And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new.  Right now. – Author Unknown

Many people constantly look back at their past and think or fret about “mistakes” they have made. If you have done this, I’m sure you have not felt very good. Most of us don’t enjoy looking at bad decisions we have made. We constantly think after the fact about how we could have done better.

At this time of year, more people reflect back over the negative events of the previous year before looking ahead to the future. My advice is too not look back at all. Don’t look back last year and don’t look back at any prior years.

All of the so called bad decisions, mistakes, mishandlings and etc. have created who you are in this very moment in time. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

The reason we don’t need to nor should we review the past is simple. At any moment in time, in other words right now, we can choose to go in another direction or be something else. We always and I can’t stress this enough, always have the power to change what we are thinking right now. No one can take that away. Only us. Once we change what we are thinking then we can change who we are and where we are going.

So as this year winds down, take the time to concentrate on how you are feeling in this very moment. Ask yourself, “How can I feel a little bit better? Can I change or tweak my thoughts to get just a little bit more satisfaction?” Don’t look back and judge all of your decisions. They really are irrelevant. Focus on the now, the present moment, while keeping an eye towards where you want to go.

You can change your life now. You can’t change the past. So don’t focus on it.

Have a great day and a coming New Year!

Michael

I’m always fascinated at how things in my life are connected, sometimes over long periods of time. I have thoughts or desires about something, anything and then weeks or months later through a series of “events” or what some would call coincidence they come true.

Time and time again, seemingly out of the blue, I’ll meet someone who knows someone who has the answer or thing I’m looking for. The more this phenomenon happens the more faith I have in it.

This happened again today. I recently met someone that has helped me to start learning yoga, gives great massages and may be able to help my friend Rebecca with an upcoming project.

My life is a wonderful adventure full of connections to a multitude of avenues, people, events, places and things. I sometimes like to follow the thread and see how things are connected. It’s a hobby of mine.

If you keep your eyes and ears open, you’ll start to see how your life is unfolding in a definite pattern and possibly you will see the connections too.

Have a great day!

Michael

I find quiet moments,
Moments of stillness,
In countless places.

When I laugh at nothing
When a friend shares a knowing glance
When solutions to vexing problems appear
When photographing a waterfall
I perceive stillness.

Seconds before sleep envelops my consciousness
During the ah-ha moments when all becomes clear
Watching a myriad of sunset colors displayed on clouds
Walking through the forest alone
I find stillness.

Between breaths, when thoughts are suspended
While ocean waves crash on shore
Watching orange campfire flames reach heavenwards
When holding hands with someone special
I reach stillness.

When I let go of fear
When I love myself
When I cultivate hope
When I relax into life’s journey
When I go with the flow
Stillness finds me.

Stillness heals.
Stillness inspires.
Stillness transforms.
Stillness encourages

Me to remember who I am.

Beliefs are only thoughts that you continue to think. – Abraham

Sounds self evident doesn’t it? I had never really thought of beliefs in this fashion. When you break it down, it means we have complete control over changing our beliefs. Well, “Of course!” you say. Think about it for a minute. How many times have you heard someone make the statement, “Well, that’s just what I believe.”? How many times have you made that statement?

Too many times we use our beliefs as reasons for not making a change in ourselves. We just shrug our shoulders because that’s just what we believe, like it is some magical concept out of our control.

If we want to change a belief, then all we need to do is break that belief down into its component thoughts. Beginning with one thought at a time, we can make small changes and before we know it our belief has changed.

I grew up having a belief that the religion I was taught as a child was the best one and also the one that everyone should believe in. I used to believe that the great diversity of religious and spiritual belief systems was a problem needing a solution. But life circumstances gave me an opportunity. I begin to review core beliefs in many different religions. I found that there was more in common that I had previously thought or believed. I could feel my old belief cracked open. As I continued to read, I became more fascinated by the similarities in all religions.

I am much more tolerant now of other religions and spiritual beliefs. I try to look behind the words and get to the core meanings. I look for the similarities and try to understand what they teach. I observe people’s actions not their just their words. Spiritual truth can be found almost anywhere and at anytime. We just need to be open to the signs. (Note: The movie Bruce Almighty has a great scene about signs.)

Think about your beliefs. How can you break your belief down into its component thoughts? You may be surprised by what you find. Changing those thoughts will be easier one by one. As those thoughts change, so will your beliefs. But then, you may be fine with your beliefs. That’s okay, too.

Have a great day!

Michael

I just spend an incredible weekend at a meditation retreat with friends approximately 7 miles south of Bath, England on an organic farm. The views were quite nice as we were tucked into a valley with rolling hillsides in the distance. Near where we slept was a lovely cut flower garden teeming with many varieties of flowers containing an abundance of white daisies.

Our group (13 to start and 12 to finish) spend hours meditating, talking, relaxing, eating lightly and experiencing the many hidden places of this “wild” farm. My dear friend Rebekah led the retreat and her partner Carlo assisted.

The theme of the weekend was healing. We did many exercises to push through barriers that were preventing us from being what we truly wanted. Many of these workshops were quite challenging for all of us. The group really came together with a common goal of exploration, openness, desire to grow and a strong feeling of wanting to help each other. It was quite an eclectic mix of people and personalities but it all seemed to work out in the end.

Everyone had a transformational experience that swept aside multiple fears that had haunted each of us for long time. The time for relaxation in between sessions allowed us to regain our strength and think about the experience. The weather cooperated with sun and clouds during the day becoming rainy in the late evening and night. We ended the day on Sunday with a bonfire and a huge feast to celebrate everything we had gone through.

It was a long but incredibly inspirational weekend. I look forward to exploring some of the themes we discussed in future postings.

Have a great day!

Michael

The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers. – M. Scott Peck

I know my own growth over the years has come in spurts. I’ve experienced plateaus of seemingly no growth where in other times it felt like an emotional roller coaster ride.

In my early years, periods of unhappiness or feeling uncomfortable lasted much longer than necessary. I took longer to learn the “lesson” or were fearful to do something outside of my comfort zone even though it meant being miserable for an extended time.

But, I finally understood that the best answer was to step outside of myself and try something completely different. As I took those first tentative steps to change, I remember feeling quite fearful. In fact, I remember the time; April, 1992. That first step I took was a major career change and I’ve never looked back. That decision completely changed the direction of my life and is a fundamental insight into who I am today.

I started to grow by leaps and bounds. I believe it was a time when my “true self” was beginning to merge. I can’t say that my true self is completely present now, but I know that I’m more “me” than I have ever been. I continue to peel back the layers to get to that core person I know as Michael.

If you find yourself in challenging times, try taking a completely different direction and see what happens. Take a small step first, but take the step. Don’t be stagnant. Stretch yourself to fulfill a small desire. If you need help or reassurance, find someone that can support you. Most importantly if that step didn’t work out, go in a different direction. I live by a simple philosophy now. I don’t want to have any “what ifs” in my life when I get older. I want answers, regardless of whether the answer is yes or no. I don’t want to be sitting around when I’m 90 and thinking, “What if I had tried this or that?” I want to know.

Have a great day!

Michael

We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations. – Anais Nin

My friend Rebecca came up with the term, synchronistic chaos. According to dictionary.com, synchronistic means coincidence in time and chaos means a state of utter confusion or disorder. So, what we have here is a lot of craziness going on at the same time.

It seems to fit really well in describing what I have been going through over the last several weeks. A lot of other people I know are going through “challenging” times; not necessarily bad, just challenging. Lots of personal growth coupled with positive and negative events.

For me, the past few weeks have been really crazy; lots of travel, massive changes and crises at work balanced by some really spectacular personal moments (budding relationship, great movies, wonderful food and lot of fun). All this adds up to long hours that have left me exhausted at the end of the day. Strangely though, that hasn’t really bothered me.

Fundamentally, I think everything that is going on is really good. Yes, I’m the eternal optimist, but bear with me a moment. For example, I’ll take the work challenges that are going on in the company where I work. The tremendous changes happening and the many crises occurring at the same time have forced people to begin looking at things with a different perspective. We have been forced to start dealing openly with some issues that have not been addressed for a long time. These issues, more than ever before, are forcing people to start working differently as a team. Is it really hard? You bet! Is it worth it? Yes, most definitely.

During these challenging and potentially stressful times, you have several options. You can dive and tackle each issue as they come. You can stand back, observe and not react until you gather all the facts. You can go with the flow. You can become overwhelmed and completely stressed. You can take a walk to think things through. Find what works for you in any given situation.

Michael

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the concept of “going with the flow” and how it relates to making decisions. Most of us are constantly making decisions, evaluating what decisions we should make, consulting our friends on their opinion of what decision would be right for us or experiencing anxiety because we can’t make a decision.

Inherent to going with the flow is the feeling of well-being and happiness. Going with the flow means that struggle is reduced or mostly eliminated. When you are going with the flow, you are headed in the direction of your desires and the real you. It really is the easy way and it allows you to enjoy the richness, fulfillment and happiness that life can be.

The need to make decisions isn’t necessary anymore when you are going with the flow. The hardest decision is the one to go with the flow and not constantly fight against the current. I say it is the most difficult decision because we are taught from childhood that the individual who struggles the hardest, wins. The person whose desires are fulfilled with little effort is viewed as lazy or lucky.

I believe that once the difficult decision to go with the flow is made, all other decisions become unnecessary. I’ve reached this point before and I’m still working on making this a permanent state. I can tell you it is a fantastic feeling and a much more relaxing place to be. Each day I practice this concept I get more skilled at it, a little bit at a time.

Go and make the decision to go with the flow. Only you know what that means for yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

Enjoy.

Michael