Sunday, November 2, 2008

3 Ways of creating......which one are you using?

The first way is by default. Sloppy thinking, reacting to your external experience or to beliefs that just are not true or do not serve you. We all do this to some degree everyday.

The second way is by deliberate thought. Knowing how powerful your thoughts are and being deliberate in your thinking........using your thoughts to stay in a good place and then allowing what is resonant with your good place to come into your experience. Not all people are deliberate in their thinking.

The last way is creating through the collective. Yep, just jump on the band wagon and get what you get.........kind of like the financial meltdown. We turn over our individual power to the consensus and roll the dice.........and we all do this to some degree as well.

Two weeks ago, someone made a formal complaint about me to our HR staff. A little background for those of you that have not worked with me. I love talking to people, my door is always open and I openly encourage anyone to come chat with me about anything. One of my standing intentions, is that beautiful, open people that are interested in a mutually benefiting interaction are attracted to me. Not only great friendships, but great lessons have been learned by this intention regularly manifesting both inside Discover Card and outside as well.

Okay, back to the complaint. The complaint was that I only talk to "young, skinny, cute girls" in my office. I had never really thought about it, but quite a few very attractive young women do approach me about coaching..........along with a few males. So the Employee Relations manager that the complaint was filed with is filling me in on the issue. She knows me very well and handled the conversation with the employee very well and actually pointed out that every employee has the same opportunity to talk to me............So why does she not approach me? because she is not resonant with my intention of a mutually benefiting interaction.

So at the end of the discussion, the HR manager said to me......."This doesn't even bother you does it, someone making a bogus claim". I just smiled and said "Are you kidding, apparently I get paid to have great conversations with Good looking women..........how good is that?"

Deliberate creating strikes again!!!! Ain't life grand!!!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

How could this happen?....

I was talking with a few people the other day and the topic of the financial markets came up.  The question came up, "How in the world did it get to this point?", another question came up about "How could AIG, the worlds largest insurer get into so much trouble?"

Well, Its really pretty simple......and I say that at the risk of sounding a bit naive or simple, but hear me out.  Every action taken by the financial markets, be the mortgage industry, the investment firms, the insurance companies or the Fed itself.......every action was driven by one predominant concept.  Only One!!  The Illusion of Lack!!!  The illusion that there is not enough, which is driven by the illusion of Need.

This isn't some Pollyanna blah, blah that I'm professing.  It's fact, but you get to choose if you believe it.  What drove all the risking sub-prime mortgage derivatives that were offered by the mortgage industry?  The need to drive more volume of loans to people that couldn't qualify for traditional mortgages.....and investors flocked to scoop up these ridiculously risky instruments to cash in on.  The really disturbing thing is that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, both knew they were a house of cards and did nothing.........why?, because the powers to be were cashing in on the reckless thirst of investors that did not want to miss out on a new source of revenue.......because they were living in the illusion of Lack......and in a mentality of get it while you can.  AIG did the same thing, Insured and then sold the policies, then re-insured and were stuck holding a bunch of policies that had defaulted loans associated with them......They literally had to borrow $85 Billion on one day and pay the entire amount out on losses the very next day, then the following day, the Federal Government took them over to maintain the mere appearance of solvency.

So what is the answer?   Well in my mind, and while it will sound pollyanna, is to make decisions based upon peace.  When I put together this investment vehicle, does it bring me peace knowing it is based upon expansion.  I'm not talking about immediate funny money expansion, I'm talking about sustainable long term positive expansion.  Key word being sustainable!!  

The "collapse" of the financial markets was inevitable as a natural part of an expansive Universe based upon positive Energy, Love, Well Being, Divinity.  Greed and short sighted strategies for "me" getting my wealth while I can does not fit into the process of expansion driven by pure positive energy.   The approach the vast majority of investors and the financial industry took was steeped in resistance and contradiction........which brought more resistance and contradiction and fear and the pyramid crumbled.  The only way the stock market could fall as much as it did, was investors got scared and sold their investments even at a loss to prevent an even greater loss.........hmm, sounds like....like attracts like.

But the good news is this is the absolutely best opportunity for us as a collective to get a grip on how we operate....and yes it will be painful for many, but only if you are creating your experience in a very haphazardly way......so just don't do that.  Use every moment of every day to re-create the manner in which you interact with life in order to create the grandest version of yourself you have ever yet to think about.  Choose your thoughts very wisely and have them work for you not against you.......use Life for what it is......expansion.  And where does expansion come from.......pure positive thoughts and feelings, Love and Joy and a knowing that you create your every experience and you only have to choose what experience you want to have........your true self only desires Well being.  Know your true self......if you do not go within, you will go without...........Be Well, and Choose Well!!!


Tuesday, October 14, 2008

I hear you Matt, Thanks and much love to you....

My Nephew Matt, 22 years old passed away last Sunday.  My boys and I went out to San Jose for the burial and memorial service this past weekend, and it donned on me how much I have changed in the past several years....in a good way.  

Matt is a twin with his brother Daniel and I could never tell them apart.  They have an older brother Chet and you could not meet nicer young men, a true reflection on their Mother and Father, Lynn and Frank.  

During our stay in San Jose, I had some really great experiences that I just want to relate and you can take them as you will.  The first one was so clear in that I really do live what I preach within this Blog, at least to a small extent and it came from Matt.  I feel like I really connected with Matt the few days we were there and developed a way for me to stay connected to him whenever I choose, which will be often.  

The first came on Friday at the grave side service.  Matt is half Native American, and his uncle and some cousins sang the Coyote song which is a song of honor.  They sang the song with a drum.  And the emotions that flowed from everyone there I felt were very much elicited from the drum beat and song, but for me more the drum beat.  I work very hard at letting spirit flow through me and it was very prevalent then.  The message that I received, and not so much in words or thoughts, but knowing was that the perspective of being so much more than we are in this physical world is in fact the case.  My two boys stood in front of me and I had a sense of sharing with them as well as with everyone else there, knowing that for each of us it was different but at the same time the same.   The idea that we are in this world but not of it!!

The pastor presiding over the burial was one of Dan and Matt's football coaches from when they were younger and he was talking about conversations that he and Matt had.  He quoted a verse from the bible about when Jesus was asked who he was, and I knew exactly what he was going to say without even knowing the verse.  The answer that Jesus gave Thomas who had asked him was "I am the way, I am the light and no man shall pass through to the kingdom of heaven but through me".   I smiled when he read the passage and wondered if anyone else interpreted it the same way that I did......but heard the thought "it does not matter, it only matters what it means to you".....and then in succession the thoughts came "know thyself", "if you do not go within, you go without", and "nothing is more important than your well being".....nothing new to me in ways of thinking, but it was so clear that Matt was communicating to me that I was on track.  Palpable was the feeling of being connected with Spirit......In-spirit-ation, or inspiration!!

The next definite moment of connection came the next evening at my sisters house, and everyone was talking about the Memorial, and a slide show of pic's of Matt,  Chet said there were 309 of them.  One of Lynn's friends asked if they did that on purpose, choosing 309 because Matt and Dan were born on 3/9.  Everyone was so surprised, and Lynn commented "that is so wierd, we didn't count them we just kept picking pictures until we stopped".  I just smiled, knowing instantly it was Matt.  I remember thinking I couldn't wait to see the slide show, but as I was thinking this, Chet had pulled up a facebook page with pictures of Matt and asked if I wanted to look.......which of course I did.  I began looking at them, and almost everyone was with Matt and at least one very good looking girl having a great time partying......it only took a second for me to have the thought, Matt lived his life in "well being".  You could see it in his eyes and his smile.  

I tell people all the time, be selfish about your well being, there is nothing more important for you or those you interact with than your well being, that is where you are at your best and make the greatest impact on Life.  Looking at those pictures of Matthew was like, BAM!!!  there is nothing more important not just for you, but for everyone you interact with and then those they interact with and so on.......and Matt obviously made that kind of impact on the people he interacted with.  The comfort I felt looking at the pictures and having the thoughts flow is hard to describe.     

Next instance was at the Memorial which was held at Matt, Dan and Chet's high shcool gymnasium.  We got there about an hour early and I sat down with my Mom.  After talking and taking in the energy in the building for twenty or thirty minutes, I turned around to look for my oldest sister and there had to be 500 people that had come in unbeknownst to me.  I was blown away.  Both Dan and Chet, Matt's brothers spoke and each of them challenged everyone to live their lives in such a way that nothing is taken for granted.  They talked about keeping Matt close to their heart and living in a way that honored life.  It was very moving and a very proud moment for people.  As Dan was talking, the thought came into my mind so clear and prevalent that I knew it was Matt......and the thought was, at anytime that I want to pass judgement on anyone, be it someone that cuts me off in traffic or someone that is just annoying me or someone that is holding up a line in a store......to stop any ill feelings about them and send them Love instead.  And in doing so, not only does that enhance my well being, it enhances theirs and Matt is with me and them........everytime.  I knew it was Matt sending me the inspiration because I remember thinking it was funny that I would think about anyone cutting me off in traffic.....first because it rarely happens anymore and second because I think I am really good about catching myself and stopping any ill thoughts about them.........and the inspiration came that I can be better at it.......everyone can.  Another inspiration came through very clearly, that being "Teach through your actions".   It's easy to tell someone something, or repeat something you have read that is meaningful.......but to live it is something completely different, and at the risk of sounding trite, it hit me that I live what I profess.......but can always do better.

My belief is that we come into this physical life for a specific purpose and it manifests in different and strange ways many times in ways that are not realized by those around us.  And it's likely that its up for interpretation by each of us what other's purpose is.......my interpretation of Matt's purpose was the importance of our own Well Being, and Matt and his purpose are not gone, they will be with me way past my time in the physical experience known as ToeMaas.........because my well being, your well being and Matt's are only different in our interpretation......ultimately they are all the same as we are all the same........One!!!  God, Source, Life energy, whatever you represent ultimate reality to be.......we are it, ONE.......only perceived to be separate.

Be Well, Be Love........live with the illusion of being separate, not in it!!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Living Affirmatively...

I AM surrounded and I AM part of an infinite intelligence which reacts to my thoughts.

I realize that the creative power of this Divine intelligence is with me now and always, and know that I AM using this Power through my thoughts and words, and operating through It will cause It (ME) to bring into my experience the good which I desire.....

Believing in Divine guidance, I know that my mind is continuously impressed with images of right action.

I know that everything in my life is directed by the action of Truth and Love.

I AM led, guided and inspired by living Spirit, that which I AM.

I AM compelled to move in the right direction always to know what to do and how to do it.

I know that at my essence, I AM perfect in complete happiness and I experience an abundance of good.  Love, Joy, perfection and abundance are what I AM.

I am success in all endeavors.

If you can get behind even a portion of the affirmations, get yourself into the feeling of IT....and remember I AM are the two most powerful and creative words you can utter......do not take that for granted!!!!  We either embrace the infinite intelligence and creative power that we are or we deny ourselves of it, and we choose to embrace or deny every moment of every day.

CHOOSE WELL!!!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Habitual ways of Thinking.....

Physicist David Bohm used to say "Normally our thoughts have us rather than we having them".  How true is that?  Better yet, How scary is that?  

And why is our thinking habitual?  Well, two reasons, one is biological.....yep, biological!!!  your thoughts create the emotional state that is determined by the neuro-peptides that create the feelings you have.  And you are addicted to those states and most of the time, you are not even conscious of those thoughts......because they are having you rather than you having them.  The second reason is conditioning.  An analogy of what I mean is a meeting in a business environment, or even a social environment, but a meeting is better for the example.  Most meetings have an agenda which is efficient because it keeps the meeting on task and the participants focussed, or should I say "conditioned".  

Now most people tell me, "well yeah, we need to keep focus, otherwise nothing would ever get done!"  Okay, I'll entertain that......but what is lost?  Creativity?  Innovation? Self Awareness?  To a degree alot, and we are not even aware of it.  Here is one of my favorite stories, and a true one as well about self awareness and how far sideways we can get without even knowing it.

A Jamaican man named Fred that worked for the World Bank was diagnosed with a terminal disease.  He went through the typical stage of denial for several weeks, but gradually with the help of friends came to grips with the "idea" that he was going to only live for a few more months.  At that point, he decided to stop doing everything that was not essential, or that did not matter.  He started working on projects with kids which he had always wanted to do, he stopped arguing with his mother, and started spending more time with his family.  He didn't get upset with things like getting cut off in traffic, because he knew he did not have the time to waste being in those states that were not bringing him joy and meaning.  

As he did this, of course, those things that took him to states of being he did not want to waste time in, stopped coming into his experience, and he met a wonderful woman that a relationship just blossomed with.  She suggested that he get some other medical opinions about his disease and he came to the states and met with doctors who conducted a series of tests.  Several days went by when he received a call from one of the doctors who told him they had a different diagnosis.  The doctor told him that he had a rare but very curable disease.  When he heard this, Fred said he cried like a baby---because he was afraid his life would go back to the way it used to be.  Of course it did not, because he had changed, but it took the idea that he would live only a few months to decide to live the life he wanted to live.

So how Self Aware are you and are you living the life you want to.  Think about it!!!  and the next meeting you attend that has an agenda, just for grins, direct the discussion away from the agenda just to see what emerges.    

Monday, September 8, 2008

What is your potential?

When I ask that question, for the most part the response I get is "What I am capable of....or the performance level I am able to attain".  So, I then ask, "what it is it you are capable of?"......to which I get two responses, 1.  I'm not really sure.  and  2.  A very specific, defined outcome.

The second response is much better than the first with respect to actually achieving or creating something, but the interesting thing is that the defined specific outcome is generally woefully short of the person's true potential.  So, I usually ask the person, do you believe that you can be, do or have anything you want......and the vast majority answer with a yes.....and a BUT!!!  So in essence, they don't really believe that they can be, do or have anything........but why?

Because of a belief that we are separate individuals made of flesh and bone, an individual personality......oh and an ego!!!  This is who I am, because everything else is clearly different and separate from me.  And in my desire to be liked, loved and accepted, I adapt to the perceived expectations of who and what are in "my life"........and we use words like life as a noun, as a thing or place.....which creates a perspective of being separate.....ie; "My Life" and "Your Life".

What if you WERE Life?  You! Me, and everything else for that matter!!  We are not our bodies, or our personalities, or our EGO's, or our material accumulations.  We are Life force, Spirit, Source Energy manifested in the physical world of matter.  And where did matter come from?  From us, from our ultimate state of consciousness......actually words are not able to accurately describe our essence, but we know it.......you tap into it every time you listen to your intuition, or you are inspired from the heart.  And you move away from it every time you operate from the EGO and judge or fear something.

IT is how a mother can lift a two ton car to save her child.  IT, YOU is in this world, but not of it!!!  It's what Jesus taught, that life force, source, spirit, or God is within you, me and every one of us, not to mention everything.  

This is exactly what this Blog is about......using every moment as a moment to re-create or reconnect or tap into your true essence and divine spirit.........going way past any contrived labels from this physical experience.......ie; christian, muslim, catholic, atheist or agnostic.  

Try this to reiterate to yourself that you are much more than the "You" we operate as most of the time.  Think about something that brings you a sense of Joy, or utter enjoyment!!  Maybe it's a two month old baby smiling, maybe its a five year old giggling uncontrollably, or maybe its squirrel's in the yard.  Maybe it's strangers on the street smiling at you as you pass each other.......whatever it is, think about it and get into the feeling it brings you when you experience this thing for you........try to experience this feeling for a minute or maybe two, then smile and release it.......go about you daily activities...........and watch not only how quickly that thing comes into your experience, but how often.........and realize that YOU, just showed YOU what you what your potential is.........INFINITE!!!!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

For four months I have been basking in fabulous feeling of the Harley Davidson that I ordered in April....

It shipped from the factory on the 31st. I began getting anxious about it arriving last Tuesday and I let that anxiousness build until Thursday when it dawned on me that "this does not feel good" so I let it go.........let go of the attachment to a specific outcome.

Well, what do you think happened then? Yep, Friday afternoon my phone rang and it was Les at the Harley dealer letting me know the truck just came and they were unloading my bike. He said it probably would not be ready for me to pick up until late in the week for a number of reasons.............none of which bothered me one bit. I was just basking in the awesome feeling of having my Harley Davidson in such close proximity to me.

So I sent texts to some friends that know I have been expecting my bike to arrive and I was amazed at the consistent reaction to the bike being here, yet not picking it up until Wed. at the earliest.........."That blows" "That sucks".....or some other derivative...........one friend even expressed that they would be so pissed off they would camp out at the dealership until they got the bike to them.

As I reflected on the experience, I got this big ass smile on my face.......knowing what my favorite mentor means when they say "It's not about the stuff!!! It's about the feeling!!! The only meaning of your physical reality, The only meaning that it has is........the degree to which you are connected with your True Self.....Your Source!!" If you feel good and good things are coming into your experience, then your in better alignment.........and if you don't feel good and things are not working in your experience, your out of alignment......pretty simple!!!!

So on Saturday, I took my boys over to the Harley Dealer to take a peak at my bike. I had seen the model I bought, but not in the color that I ordered it in.........Black Pearl!!! OMG!!! It is ridiculous how beautiful it is!!! My 11 year old son, who has been as excited about getting it as I have been, was standing next to me sharing the feeling when he asked me, "How come you never got one before this Dad?" I looked at him and just said, "because this one wasn't built"...........The Universe conspired perfectly on my behalf with this one!!!

So how do you deliberately get into that feeling? Let me tell you a story. One of my favorite and dear friends called me in tears Friday. She was sobbing to the point I could hardly understand her.........I got her to calm down enough that I could understand her. She said that her brother was getting married today and because she was not active in the church (LDS) she was not allowed to be in the temple during the service. She vacillated between crying and being pissed off. So I let her go off a little and she said, "it's so stupid, and it pisses me off!!!!....they piss me off!!!!" I had to jump in and tell her "Whats stupid, and you know this......is that you let other people piss you off and make you upset. Trust me they are not upset, just you!!"

She agreed, and asked "so how do I get out of this ugly feeling?" my reply, "Get a paper and pen and start writing about what you appreciate about the church, like while you don't agree with some of the philosophies, your grateful for the peace it provides your family and the direction that it provides in their lives and the meaning and purpose that they receive by being a part of the organization.........whatever, just write about the appreciation you can feel for its existence in your families lives. You don't agree with it, but you don't have to, and you don't have to let it's rules bother you or upset you!!!! Write for 60 seconds or better yet for 90 seconds, that's all it takes, then let me know how you feel"

She did, and she was back to the mystical friend I adore.........I could feel the Love that she is. At the end of the day, who cares about a particular room you were allowed to stand in, or if you are part of the club!............At the end of the day, or this physical experience, there are no rooms, and definitely no clubs!!!..........Choose your thoughts, change your perceptions and live the life and experience you choose........don't defer to external circumstances!!!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Ponder this!!!

To think that we can direct our lives misses the essence of who we are..........by directing our lives, by definition does not allow for the life, the universal wisdom, universal creativity......who we are to manifest. By thinking we can direct our lives to gain success or happiness works to alleviate the universe embracing us and allowing our realities that will serve us best to manifest. Taking charge of our life, taking charge of a situation is what our culture, our economy, our government are dependent upon and expect. We react to life's circumstances and situations...........unwittingly, we believe that by taking charge and acting by design, that is how the best result will come about. The problem is that our "acting by design" is derived from our conditioning by society. "Should's and should not's" are based upon reacting to life's circumstances in a minimalist approach. Minimalist from the standpoint that we don't fully understand our own human nature, which for most people has not emerged as of yet.

Society professes "Be yourself within the prescribed assumption (society's belief) to become successful"..............which in itself is a contradiction. Success is different for everyone, you don't become successful, you are successful, that is the human nature that has yet to emerge for most people. If you believe you are one with the universe, and you align with the universe, life itself, you are success. When you believe that "hard work" or "acting by design" or "taking charge" contribute to your success, you have eliminated the opportunity for life to embrace you........you are not allowing you to embrace yourself. You are not YOU, you are what you think you should be based upon some prescribed belief.

By necessity, if you are in control of your life and acting by design and applying a strong work ethic........you have likely removed the opportunity for being embraced.........writers block is a perfect example. When writers are at their best, they release themselves to the universal wisdom and creativity that each of us has within ourselves. They release their talents..........they release the essence of who they are and who they are is manifested. What is manifested has always existed, it has always been real....(it's human nature).....it has been waiting for the individual to allow it to embrace them in the physical world. Writers block is really the universal wisdom and creativity being blocked by the need (incessant thought patterns) or want to create something............and the more time that goes by in the "block", the more the need grows, and on and on.

Releasing your talents is really allowing yourself to be embraced by what you naturally have the potential to be. The challenge is not realizing that by letting go, you become YOU. The challenge is overcoming the belief that letting go is irresponsible. Letting go does not mean you are not responsible in the meaning of achievement or that you become complacent...........its actually the opposite. By truly letting go and being YOU unimpeded by the should and should not's, you can't help but be responsible and anything but complacent..........that's when things happen. You don't need to know what you will do in certain situations, you do the right thing. You don't need to know what possible problems may arise, in the unlikely event that they do arise, you will know the best resolution.........you have access to the wisdom and knowledge and power that is you, that is the universe, that is life............that is when life gets really FUN!!!

Monday, July 14, 2008

Do you know exactly what you are at liberty to do, be or have?

I mean with without question or reservation, have you ever asked yourself that question let alone answered it?  The key word in the question is "Liberty"......Liberty identifies the condition in which an individual has the ability to act according to his or her own will.   Now, we all have the ability to act according to our own will.......but how often during the day do we?  Considering the fact that every moment is an opportunity to choose our actions, that can be a daunting task.  

Think about it, if you are only processing one billionth of the stimuli available to you in a given moment, and you are, and the determining factor of which one billionth you actually process out of the infinite amount of stimuli available to you is based upon your beliefs......you process that which supports what you already believe, and your beliefs are based upon your perceptions of past experience and knowledge learned, which could be wrong........what are the chances that you are acting according to your will?   I'm going to go out on a limb here and say, you likely have better chances in Las Vegas.........but hey, people win huge jackpots every year!!!

Okay, but there is really good news!!!  First, lets talk about will......I'm not talking about will power, or even free will......most people's notion of will is associated with dedication, or intestinal fortitude, or even motivation..........but if your operating from beliefs that may be wrong and are further supported by your interpretation of your every experience, that deliberate dedication, or motivation is being directed to efforts that are not necessarily congruent with your heart or soul.........which is why it is so important to know your self.  

If you do not go within, you go without!!!

Your heart is where your truth is and what I like to refer to as Divine Will.....the will that is aligned with your soul, and source......not contrived based upon external circumstances.......its where inspiration comes from, intuition as well............but not motivation.  Motivation is derived from reacting to external circumstances.........inspiration is never reactive, it is always proactive and your actions are easy and efficient when coming from inspiration.......actions from motivation are rarely easy and efficient.......that's why you hear phrases like "he is so motivated, look how hard he is working".

Inspiration comes from the heart based on unity and wholeness.......there is no greater power for us in the physical than the higher consciousness of the heart's knowing.  So how do we tap into this innate power more frequently.........well, stop doing and start spending more time being.  And what is doing?  The vast majority of the time its reacting based upon external circumstances.

For instance, a mother is getting ready for her day, which includes getting her four year old up, dressed, fed breakfast, and ready to go to pre-school.  Normally the four year old is pretty good and goes with the flow, and obviously this makes the mother feel good.  Occasionally, the four year old is just not cooperative and fights the mother's direction for him to be ready.  It just seems that everything the mother wants the child to do, he wants nothing to do with......so the mothers natural reaction is frustration and perhaps a degree of stress.......who knows, but its not a good feeling for either the mother or the child and pretty soon the mother and the child are reacting to the other's actions.......and not in the most positive way.  To some degree we have all been in a similar situation, maybe even in both the child's and mother's role.

What would happen if the mother, had the inspiration, or more accurately tuned into the innate inspiration within her heart and went with it?  Rather than reacting, she chose to be proactive following her inspiration, and stopped what she was doing and saying, and showered the four year old with her love.  Just moved her feelings from frustration to the pure Love that she is, and began emanating her Love to her child.  

Okay, a number of things are taking place, one, she is taking the liberty to "be" what her essence is, pure positive Love.  She is living proactively rather than reactively.......which is not only much more natural, but much more effective in feeling life.  But, how difficult do you think it will be for the child to be in the presence of his mother's pure Love and continue to struggle and resist her?  One, she has stopped making requests of him.....she is just being her essence, pure Love, and two from a vibrational resonance standpoint, it is just going to get really weird for him to be frustrated and acting out in proximity to her Love.  He will either run out of the room or just drop his ill feelings and walk or run to be close to her.

What kind of day do you think the Mother and child will have after spending time in presence? Presence being the essence of who we are, pure positive Love demonstrated proactively experienced through inspiration.  Yeah, pretty freaking great!!!  Who knows what other inspiration she and the child might experience.

Be at liberty to be, do or have all that you are inspired to be, do or have.  Be proactive in interpreting your every moment as an opportunity for you to recreate yourself in the greatest version of yourself you have yet to even imagine..........Surprise yourself with just how good it can be, the possibilities are endless.........you know that, right?

Sunday, July 6, 2008

What's the vibrational essence of your thoughts?

You develop patterns of thought which cause you to offer patterns of vibration, which equal what you are living. What manifests is always an accurate reflection of the thoughts that you’ve been thinking. And so, hopefully you see how beneficial it is to think in terms of the vibrational essence of the thought that you are thinking.

If you are focused upon the absence of Well-Being in some area of your life, and you focus your attention on that, at some point you develop a vibrational essence; it’s where your thoughts easily go; it’s where your conversations easily turn; it’s just the way you feel about this or about that….…those practiced, conscious or unconscious, vibrations, then become your point of attraction. And what you’re getting matches that perfectly, every single time.

Your emotions are exact indicators that let you know what your vibrational resonance is. And your emotions feel the way they do because of two important vibrational factors: The factor of desire, which is the summoning power. And the factor of allowing— which is the letting, or the not letting what you’ve summoned to flow. So, the two factors that your emotions are always letting you know are: how focused the Energy is by virtue of your desire, and how your normal thoughts around the subject resonate or don’t resonate with that desire. Easier way to say it is, “what’s my attitude or what’s my mood about such-and-such?

For instance, “When I think about my body, do I love it? Am I grateful? Does it annoy me? Does it embarrass me? Do I praise it? Do I condemn it? Do I adore it? Do I compliment it? Do I criticize it?” In other words, what kinds of things do you say about your body?

When you think about money, do you feel joyful? Does the idea of money make you feel free? Do you feel eager and enthusiastic about money? Do you feel afraid when you think about money? Are you angry about money? Are you embarrassed about money? Do you dread even thinking about it? Are you worried about it, eager about it, happy about it? Notice the question was how you “Feel about Money”, not how you feel when you have it or don’t have it.  

If your like most people, what's most important is the feelings you associate with Money.  It’s not about having or not having something, it’s about the feeling you have about the notion of the thing, the energy of the thing.  Having it is the residual effect of having a feeling that is resonant with the thing.....(remember those people that always ask me "where's my stuff?....what is that thought resonant with?....yep, not having their stuff)....in other words, if you have positive feelings about the notion of money, your vibration is one of allowing, and more money will come to you...........and for God's sake, don't even think about how its going to come to you.......that's not a good place to be vibrationally for more money to come into your experience.  This is usually where some people say, "So if I just feel good, money will fall into my lap"?......In short, by being in a good place, having a good vibe going, essentially being in an allowing stance, your actions will then be inspired, and are congruent with recognizing a good opportunity, or any number of infinite possibilities for more money to come into your experience. 

When you think about the overall economy, are you grateful for the economy? Do you love it when someone else is abundant and prosperous? Are you jealous when someone is thriving? Do you feel happy for a friend that is succeeding? Do you feel unhappy about your not succeeding when you see your friends succeeding? Do you blame the government? Do you blame your job or the work you do? How do you feel?

You know that there are people that are hugely successful in the worst of times just like there are people that fail at everything in the best of times. Why? It’s how they feel about success or their potential, or their focus on the lack of whatever and the feeling associated with that lack.

All day, every day, you have opinions and attitudes. Most of them you didn’t even figure out on your own. You hung around or listened to somebody else who hung around or listened to somebody else who hung around or listened to somebody else… And often, you’ve developed an attitude or belief, a belief about money, a belief about relationships, a belief about your body, a belief about your job............a belief about what makes you happy, or what needs to take place in order for you to be happy.........and so how are those beliefs working for you?

If you are not sure what your vibrational essence is, that’s understandable because most people do not notice the emotional correlation between thoughts that just feel normal. In other words, you want to do what’s socially acceptable, so that you don't feel like an outcast. And you want to do what’s politically correct, because you don't want to be an outcast. And you want to do what your family expects of you, because you don’t want to let them down, and some people do what their religion says, because they don’t want to be disavowed or go to hell. So essentially, your concern is adapting in order to fit in, or in order to “not” be what “you don’t want”.

Most people, including you have been using standards or measures of success that are outside of them and that have no supportive basis for what they want. These norms, if you thought about it from an attraction standpoint, would have nothing to do with you determining your thoughts or opinions or attitudes, let alone your actions.........but you let them. So as this is taking place, what has happened is, you have developed an array (a quagmire really) of beliefs, some of which serve you and some that don't. But, most people feel powerless in what comes to them because they’ve been emanating this vibration (through their thoughts) and emanating that vibration, and emanating that vibration, and attracting more thoughts and beliefs of like vibration. Then, low and behold based upon attraction, they see evidence to support those same thoughts and beliefs. And so now, they find themselves wallowing in a bunch of beliefs that are not serving them.

Self fulfilling prophecy? Okay, or Universal Law, very exact, never wavering, always 100% accurate........Law of Attraction. How many times have you heard something like this...."They warned me about that, and sure enough, it happened.” Well, this is not a warning, this is the way it is: What anyone is living, our culture, our environment, our society, our city, our family, yourself, what anybody is living, the truth, or the evidence that you are producing is only the truth that manifests in response to the habit of thought and vibration that you put forth.

So, say you decided to join the "fight against Drugs", what is the truth in the fight?, where are you giving your energy? War on Terrorism? Okay, how is that working out? Noble and well intentioned as it appears, "The Race to find a Cure for Cancer" might work better if we just focused on well being and less on stress and chaos…….cancer would just not exist. All of these efforts are like saying, “There’s something out there that I do not want, but because somebody else created it in their experience and it became their truth, now I feel obligated to beat the drum of it, and make it my truth, too.” Fortunately, there are a variety of truths for you to pick from.

Fortunately, you are the creator of your own truth. No one can write a book, or start a movement, or organize a religion, or say, “These are the things that are important for you to do, and these are the things that you must not do,” and you have to believe it or buy into it, unless you choose to...........which so many of us do. You get to choose all of it. So use the Guidance System that is within you. How you feel about it and if does not feel good............For goodness sake, re-create yourself to the greatest version of yourself you have yet to imagine.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Beliefs that support your desires.....

Why not be deliberate about them.  I mean very deliberate.  Take for instance as an example a goal of having a physically fit and attractive body by August 30, 2008.......the first belief I would test is "I am capable of attaining a physically fit and attractive body by Aug. 30", and guess what, most people at the subconscious level do not believe that statement.  If they did, they would already have it.........Your sub-conscious beliefs are your operating system that your actions are derived from.  

The next belief I would test is "I am in control of my body and myself", then "I create through my thoughts and feelings", then "My body is a sea of infinite possibilities", then "My body is efficient and effective at processing nutrition to be strong and fit".  What about this one?  "I Love my body and that I created it exactly the way it is"......

And if any of those beliefs were not congruent with your subconscious mind, I would rewrite them.......why?   Think about it, How do you think your body would respond to having the following hard wired into your subconscious (operating system).
1.  I am capable of attaining a physically fit and attractive body by Aug. 30.
2.  I am in control of my body and myself.
3.  I create through my thoughts and feelings.
4.  My body is a sea of infinite possibilities.
5.  my body is efficient and effective at processing nutrition to be strong and fit.
6.  I love my body.

So you are just operating from those beliefs, how would you feel?  Empowered?, Confident?, Connected?, Tapped in?, Sexy?, Physically fit?, Attractive?, Loved?.......Ahh, yeah, I think so!!!

Your body is the way it is right now, as a result of how you feel........if you don't like your butt (a common one for women) where is your attention?  And how does that feel?  And what does that create?  More of the butt you don't like.  Make no mistake, your body is exactly the way you are creating it........deliberately or haphazardly........so which is it?  

Well, maybe we should get back to what you believe.  Do you believe you create your physical appearance with your thoughts and feelings?  Do you believe you can have the body you want if you workout on a regular basis and eat the right foods?....or that as you age, its just that much harder to stay in shape?.....that one alone is so dis-empowering, let alone self fulfilling.....but how many people do you know that buy into that one......well look around, people get old looking because they see people get old looking as they age......Hello!!!......Or do you believe that your perceptions, thoughts from those perceptions and feelings from those thoughts create everything in your environment........if your like 99.99% of all people, you are operating from a belief of materialism, that things are as they are and your just along for the ride, like getting old..........I'm not talking about the momentary realization that your thoughts can affect your experience, I'm talking about a knowing, like you know the sun will come up in the morning, that your thoughts can and do create every aspect of your experience............Be the change that you want.   

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Wow, July 1st

Hard to believe its been a full month since my last entry.....obviously been busy, and to be honest not all that deliberate in my thoughts and feelings.......conditioned thinking strikes again.  But just another opportunity for me to re-create myself in the best version of myself that I yet to experience.......ain't life grand!!!!


Sunday, June 1, 2008

The Known versus the Unknown

Most of us have a thrist for the known or at least take comfort in the known, while we are afraid of the unknown. If you sat back and thought about it, it should be the exact opposite.

Let's look at the "known" first. The 'Known" is everything that has either already happened or information you have intellictualized.........so its the past, and is the stuff that your beliefs are made of.........experience and knowledge shape your beliefs..............and so what if your perception of the past experience or the knowledge you have intellectualized is just not accurate? Well, you are operating from beliefs that are not accurate, and more importantly they are confining in that they do not allow for alternative thinking. After all what we know is very comforting and changing to something unknown is very distressing for most of us.

Now, take the "Unknown". The "Unknown" is infinite possibilities that are just awaiting you and I to enact them. They (the infinite possibilities) exist in the successive moments that make up the Now and shape the future. But if we are not comfortable with the "Unknown" and comfortable with the "Known" what do we get in the future?...........more of the known!!!!! How freakin boring is that?

The conditioned thinking and behavior most of us spend so much time "re-acting" in is derived fromt the "Known". Reacting, think about that word...........Re-acting........meaning re-acting behavior or thinking (thought actually, because your just rehashing previous thinking) that you have used before, and in many cases behavior or thought that was just not very effective the last time we used it..........so why re-act it? Conditioned thinking!!!

Rather than fearing the unknown, we should embrace it, look at it for what it is............pure infinite potential...........the unknown is where innovation, creativity, wisdom all reside. The Unknown is where ultimate potential resides. The Unknown is beyond right or wrong, or judgement.

Whenever I have a coaching session with another person, the first thing I do is clear my head of any preconcieved notion of what I want to accomplish, I suspend any idea of how I would like for the conversation to go.........My only agenda is to be open to what will emerge during the dialogue. When I can do that, I learn as much about myself as I do about the other person.

Make the "Unknown" an adventure into the infinite possibilities that you always have access to and watch how much fun you have in changing yourself and changing the world..........one moment at a time.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Practical Application

I was chatting with a good friend the other day and she asked, so how do you apply this philosophy of re-creating yourself every moment........."How do you Tom, make as many moments as you can, the moment you re-create yourself in the greatest vision you have ever had of yourself.....Release the talents that are the essence of who you are and see what you are truly capable of!!! Tell me how you do this?"


This is what I told her. "I am more deliberate about watching my thoughts than anything else I do. Not to the extent that I can't function, but I watch where my thoughts are coming from, just to be in tune with them.....after all your thoughts create your reality. So, as my day progresses, invariably something will happen that causes me to react with thoughts that are less than positive. For instance, It's been awhile, but I used to every so often get like a 9 minute voice mail from my oldest Son's mom. These VM's are ridiculous and usually she is making some ridiculous demand for money. Anyway, very often my initial thought reaction would be something like this, 'Would you just go away!!!' and I could feel the angst building.......but I would stop, and change my thoughts to, 'this is just another opportunity for me to be deliberate and choose my thoughts and feelings. Being frustrated does not serve me in any beneficial way, and even though I am not obligated to pay her any money for what she is demanding, I'm so glad I have the resources to be able to pay her and it not even phase me.'

And literally, just like that I released the initial frustration and was back to my normal good place. Sometimes I would think without any specific attachment to anything, but I would think about what I might have going on internally that would bring her lashing out at me into my experience........Sometimes I would realize I had been judgmental about someone or something, which just gave me more perspective on how reacting without deliberate discernment of how my thoughts would create my experience was sloppy creating on my part.


So, essentially by watching my thoughts and spending so much time in a good place, the things that are in vibrational resonance with where I am internally are the things that come into my experience........Like my Son moving in with me, and which leaves his Mom with no reason to call and leave long VM's for me........it's just not in resonance with where I am. Make sense?


If you will just allow it, the Universe, All that is, your higher Self, will conspire on your behalf in the most enjoyable but unexpected ways!!!!! And how much fun is that? Pretty Freakin' fun!!!

Monday, May 12, 2008

When the Student is ready, The teacher will appear!!!

No doubt, you have heard this phrase before......but what does it mean for you?  

When the Student is ready, The Teacher will appear!! 

Appear is the key word meaning that the teacher is and always has been here.  The teacher is you, it's your True self that is infinitely connected with all that is, and when you are ready, it then appears.......and who knows how it will appear!!!!.  A chance meeting with an old acquaintance, a book, a song, a traumatic event......the possibilities are infinite.  That can be quite troubling to discern what to take from something that at the outset seems nothing but an unfortunate set of circumstances........but that's also the good news, you can, if you choose, determine what the teaching is to be taken from the situation or experience........the key is allowing it to appear.

You are eternally connected with source, all that is, the Universe, G.O.D.........we just have to choose to tap into it......choose to remember that we live in a participatory universe in which life is suppose to be easy, and it is our responsibility to open up to the possibilities.  Heraclitus wrote;

"There is only one wisdom; to recognize the intelligence that steers all things."

This universal intelligence is what connects us all, it is what permeates our bodies and allows all 70 trillion cells that make up our body to simultaneously function in unison, it is what allows our intuition to stop us from doing something that will not serve us, it is what delivers a creative solution to a nagging problem........it is US......You , Me and everything.........It is what you go without, if you do not go within.

so how do you allow the teacher to appear, turn off auto pilot, stop being busy doing stuff or thinking about stuff........and spend 10 or 15 minutes just being........just being!!........after all you are a Human Being.......not a Human Doing!!!

 

Sunday, May 11, 2008

There are two kinds of Intelligence:

One acquired, as a child in school memorizes facts and concepts from books and from what the teacher says, collecting information from the traditional sciences as well as from the new sciences.

With such intelligence you rise in the world. You get ranked ahead and behind others in regard to your competence in retaining information. You stroll with this intelligence in and out of fields of knowledge, getting always more marks on your preserving tablet.

There is another kind of tablet, one already completed and preserved inside of you. A spring overflowing it's springbox. A freshness in the center of the chest. This other intelligence does not turn yellow or stagnate. It's fluid, and it doesn't move from outside to inside through the conduits of plumbing-learning.

This second knowing is a fountainhead from within you moving out.
-- Rumi

I love Rumi, Such wisdom in his words!!!

Set aside some time to listen to your inner dialogue as often as you can............listen and practice discerning between "Learned Thoughts", "everyday chatter" and "Inner Wisdom". What is your Inner Wisdom trying to teach you?

Happy Mother's Day!!!!...........I am fortunate to have some really freaking cool Mother's in my life and I'm sending them all my love right now!!!..........Be Well!!

Sunday, May 4, 2008

"We lie in the lap of immense intelligence"

Ralph Waldo Emerson got it......I Love this quote of his, "the sense of being which in calm hours arises, we know not how, in the soul......is not diverse from things, from space, from light, from time, from man, but is one with them and proceeds obviously from the same source......here is the fountain of action and thought......we lie in the lap of immense intelligence."

The sense of being in calm hours arises.......which to me is when we transcend materialism, or object referral.....you know, get past the personal self, the ego self.......and tap into the True Self that has always been.  

Is not diverse from things....but is one with them and proceeds obviously from the same source.....Yeah, we are all connected.....not diverse from things, space, light, time and man.....yet we are steeped in this illusion of separatism, or as Deepak Chopra calls it a "superstition" of materialism........the idea that your body, your career, your bank account, your accomplishments are who you are..........what happens when all that goes away?  Where are you?  

Here is the fountain of action and thought.........when you are coming from your True Self, your thoughts and actions are derived from truth, not illusion......not the superstition of materialism.  So what does that mean.......well you are contributing to growth and expansion of the Universe...not economic growth.......but whole growth, eternal growth........your thoughts and actions are not a deliberate act, they just flow.......this is when the Universe seems to conspire on your behalf.......because that is exactly what it is doing!!!

Don't think so?  Think about it, when you are conceived, all you are is a double strand of DNA.  Literally a speck of intelligence and information that becomes 70 trillion cells that orchestrate themselves into a full functioning human being.......all 70 trillion cells functioning simultaneously!!!  This operating of your body is not a deliberate thought......you might be smart, but your not that fast!!!  So if all your cells are functioning simultaneously without fail or confusion and its not a result of your direction.......it's really not a stretch to think that the Universe, or the Source of all that is, is in fact conspiring on your behalf.......right?

Well yeah, that's nature, that's evolution........you can't stop that, what do I have to do with that?  Well, for most people.....we interfere with it!!!!  Where do you think disease comes from?  Do you really think Source would create the human body, which is a pretty amazing organism, to have it fall apart or self destruct within even 80 years?  100 years?.......Come on!!!  Oh, blame it on genetics!!!  Nope, that won't work, 95% of the human population is genetically sound......the only answer is YOU!!!  You interfere with a divine creation........but why?  That's easy, to remember who and what you really are.

"The sense of Being".....one with all that is, not separate......ONE with allowing the innate intelligence and creativity of the Universe to flow through you!!!.......This innate intelligence is spontaneous, it's not contrived........all you can do is allow it, and when you do you experience the true essence of what you and I are.........you just know, you can't describe it......and things just fall into place seemingly out of nowhere (now here). 

Be, Do or Have anything that you want.......do you believe that or do you know that........belief in hope is much different than belief in knowing............it makes it very difficult to Know that you can Be, Do or Have anything you want when your core belief is that you are separate from your source...........What belief do you think people are coming from when they ask "When do I get my stuff?"..........Be the change you want to see in the world!!!!.........Re-create yourself every moment of everyday!!!!  You can, you know!!!  

Monday, April 21, 2008

So what is your belief?

The other day someone asked me what my religious beliefs are.  My reply was essentially that I do not believe in "A" religion.  The person asked if I believe in God, to which I replied, "if you mean an old white man in a robe floating around the heavens?....No!"  I went on to explain that I like the analogy that Gary Schwartz uses: G.O.D., meaning Guiding-Organizing-Designing intelligence......and then I add Energy.  I continued that each of us is part of that Intelligence and energy......Blasphemy, some would call that!!  I would tell them to get over themselves.

So the conversation continued with the question "Were you raised in a particular religion?".  I was raised in the Lutheran church, not sure which synod......but I do remember sitting in church listening to the sermon at about the age of six thinking, "this is not what it's all about".....and was not judgmental about it, it was more just an observation on my part.  

I think there is some good to be taken from most religions, if not all.......but it goes back to perspective and context.  In my opnion, most western religions, especially Christian religions are exclusionary and fear based, which just does not feel good to me.  I don't believe that there is one way.......as a matter of fact one of the earliest intuitive messages that I got was "if anyone says their way is the only way.....turn and go the other way".  That rubs some dear friends of mine the wrong way.......as does when I say that nobody needs to be saved, there is no such thing as evil or dark forces and Satan is a figment of someones imagination.

I don't actively promote my beliefs, I was asked, so I explained what they are.  My perspective is this;  We are extensions of Source Energy, G.O.D., the Universe, all that is......and we came into the physical plane to experience what we knew as non-physical energy.  There is a big difference between knowing something and actually experiencing it, right?.  So we came into this life time as we have other life times, to learn / remember who we are and what we are truly capable of.  We are creators and the physical plane provides us the opportunity to experience what our true capabilities are.  You can be, do or have anything you decide!!!

But why do bad things happen to people?  Well, I suppose it's bad if your coming from a perspective that there are random acts or was it the "devil that made it happen?".   Perceived "bad" things happen for purpose.......the meaning of which we give to them.  If we want to be victims, we can feel bad that we are not in complete control of our experience and resign ourselves to the fact that Stuff just happens we don't control.......ugh!!  Have fun with that!  Or if we want to be the powerful creators that we are, we view "Bad" things as things that did not work for us, gain contrast from the experience and re-create ourselves anew.  And if we are really keen, we step back from the experience and reflect on what was going on with our feelings and thoughts, beliefs, what perspective and meaning we were giving to prior experiences to see what we did not tune into in order to change the "bad" thing to a "Good" thing.

If we are extensions of G.O.D. as I believe we are, then we have access to infinite intelligence, wisdom, creativity......well every bit of information that ever was and ever will be.  The catch is that we have to choose to have access to it......and it's always there, we just don't listen as often as we should.  Why?, because we don't believe that is the case.  Our belief system is based on separatism from ourselves and definitely from G.O.D.  We were born sinners after all!!!

The funny thing to me is that Jesus knew this, it's what his teaching was all about!!!  Of course, the gospels that demonstrate this were left out of the bible.  Why?  Who knows, the bible was written 1600 years ago.......maybe the council of pagan scholars put together by Emperor Constantine didn't "get" those gospels, maybe they thought they were gibberish, or maybe they thought people couldn't understand it or it was too enlightening...........who cares?  What I have read of them, I can feel in my heart as truth....."Know thyself" was central to Jesus' message, He even went as so far as to teach not depending on him, for that would prevent you from truly knowing yourself.......the divinity within each of us..........He knew that when asked "teach us the way" meant for him to guide the disciples to knowing themselves as no different than he was.  He understood that having others be so dependent on him for salvation was a dis-service to them, something that kept them from truly knowing themselves. 

Don't just believe me, check it out yourself.....or not, but to the nay sayers and fundamentalists, absence of proof is not proof of absence.......Go within to feel what is truth.....invest in knowing, and if your knowing is in organized religion, I honor that as I hope that you honor my knowing!!!   Be Well!!!!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Random Events....Are there really Random Events?

Nope!!!  None, Nada, Zip......take random right out of your vocabulary.....or not, it's your choice.  What about Fate?.......Nope!!!  Luck?  Nope!!!   Of course that is just my opinion......actually it's just my knowing........and how do I know?  Because I can feel it in my heart.

So check it out, ask yourself "Do Random events actually exist?" and sit with that question and get into the feeling you have in your heart.  If your not getting a distinct feeling about the question.......ask it this way, "Do random events work for me?"  In other words, do random events serve me?  Do they benefit me?........if your still not getting anything, ask it this way, "Do random events not work for me?"   Ask the question with the intention of determining if random events or fate serve you in your purpose.

I know they do not exist because for me they clearly do not work for me in knowing my True Self.  In other words, if I believed in random events, then my complete responsibility for my experience does not exist.  Complete is the key word in that last sentence.  Your responsibility is not a part time gig, on at times and off at times....It's a full time 24/7 thing.....and Thank God for that!!!  But guess what?  Most people operate with a belief that fate and randomness is what the world is about.......some actually believe that their existence is random!!!  Ouch!!  How dis-empowering is that?

Think about a person that you met in what seemed at the time as a very unlikely circumstance, or as a completely random event, but they have become very significant to you through your relationship with them.   You connected with them through vibrational resonance, it wasn't random or fate......you were both in vibrational alignment with the other.  And everything in your experience is in your experience because of this alignment, no exception.....everything you perceive as good and everything you perceive as bad.....EVERYTHING!!!

Now, think about that last sentence, the key words being perceive, good and bad.   What if you could change your idea of "good or bad", and "right and wrong"......to one of "it's working".....for instance, let's say you are on your way to meet a friend for lunch, and you get stuck in traffic and you immediately jump to thinking, damn!! I'm going to be late!!.....or essentially your mind is coming from a context in which traffic jams are not good because you have to be somewhere and the traffic is causing you to be late.   What if you changed your perspective about traffic jams to one of "the universe is working for me, I don't know the purpose yet, but I know this traffic jam is serving me"?   Well, what this alternative perspective does is allow for the infinite possibilities that exist to line up with your vibe, which is one of allowing which can only be good........ 

So, maybe traffic clears up, your delayed all of 5 minutes and when you get to the restaurant your friend is not there yet so you sit in the waiting area.  And the person sitting next to you strikes up a conversation and you end up becoming business partners in a venture that you have always dreamed of, or any number of infinite other possibilities that come from a "Why Not?" perspective.

Or, So traffic clears up, your delayed 5 minutes, but it seemed like eternity in the pissed off mood it put you in, and in your rush to get to the restaurant on time (that your friend is late getting to anyway) you clip a car rushing into the turn lane, the police are called to take a report, and so you call your friend to let them know, and you reschedule for another day, or any number of limited possibilities that will come from a "Why me?" perspective. 

Yeah!!!  Be picky about your thoughts.......they are always working........so you might as well make them work for you........or they will seemingly work against you........and its all about perspective and context........but then again, some people like being second fiddle and to each their own, Ha!!  Imagine that!!!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

What exactly are Beliefs?

I have read quite a bit about Beliefs, but the best analogy that I have seen is that Beliefs are like a program such as "Power Point" or "Excel" or "Word" on your computer.  If you want to make a presentation to a group of people you might use "Power Point" to create a slide deck in order to present information in a particular context.  Same for your life experience......Your perspective of an experience is derived from the beliefs you hold........so you process all the data of an incident or interaction with another person.......but the context in which you process the bits of information is determined by your beliefs.......Some data you completely miss because it is not congruent with your beliefs.

So your beliefs are housed in your minds......yep, all of them.  The conscious and the subconscious minds......or your consciousness......which is kind of analogous to an operating system like Windows, or the Apple OS which I am partial to........anyway, could there be another component to the belief system that is not always allowed to be in play?  I think so, and I think it's the heart........The heart knows truth, your truth.....with a clear mind and true heart, you access implicate order that David Bohm talks about(more on that later).  And how does your heart know truth?...... it knows by feeling.......and what is feeling?  It's thoughts and emotions combined that create the feeling.  

Feelings are the perception at the cellular level of the environment created by your thoughts and emotions.........from utter well being to utter despair.......the two main emotions out of which all other emotions are derived......Love and Fear (False Evidence Appearing Real). Love is not better than Fear, its just different......rather than looking at them as good or bad.......look at them in the context of "working for you" or "not working for you".

Love is where growth and expansion come from.  Fear is where protection and contraction reside.  Which works best for you....well that depends on the situation and where you are....Duh!!! kind of a silly question!!!!!  I'll go with Love, but what is Love?  You are Love, the essence of who you, me and every other living thing is.....is love.

So how do your beliefs impact your knowing Love, or experiencing Love, or fearing Love?  How many people do you know that are afraid of Love......afraid that if they Love, they are bound to be hurt or have the heart broken?  Have you been afraid of having your heart broken?  I have and as you know, that was no fun at all........so why go there, why even entertain the possibility that Love which is so nourishing and creative could be painful?

Well, could it be that the illusion of separateness and materialism caused it?  Ah, Yeah!!  So how do we overcome the illusions we live in?  See them for what they are for, Live with them, not in them........they provide you with the contrast that allows you to fully understand what you are capable of.......which of course is anything!!!!  It's your choice, is life happening to you or through you?

Monday, April 14, 2008

Newtonian or Quantum.....Which are you operating in?

Do you believe that we live in a Universe that exists independently of us human beings, or do you believe that we live in a participatory Universe where consciousness is important and creative?  If all sentient beings were removed from the Universe, would it actually exist?  Kind of like the proverbial question, if a tree falls in a forest where nobody is, does it make a noise?  Noise is nothing more than a wave being perceived by our sense of hearing, and in that context, No, the tree falling did not make a noise.........but can the same be actually true for the Universe?

Well, I guess it comes down to what you believe!!  Again, imagine that!!  Do you believe that we are separate from everything (Newtonian) or that we are all connected (Quantum)?  I'm down with us and everything for that matter being connected, but I'm also working daily at re-writing my conditioned beliefs that we are all separate.  Think about how much of our experience, schooling, religions, society and our daily activities teach us that we are separate.   Just look at the way we treat each other, we are steeped in separatism.

Do you know that the brain does not have the ability to distinguish time.  In other words, the brain cannot discern between something it is actually perceiving through sight, or something you are imagining......the same parts of the brain are processing what you are seeing and what you are imagining.  So what does that mean to you?  Well, if the brain cannot distinguish time, then you can go into experiences of the past via your imagination, and change your perception of them.  

Let's say that you had a disagreement with a friend.  And the disagreement was in your perception so egregious that you stopped talking to this friend.  So you no longer have this friend in your experience and at times you miss them, but the disagreement was so severe that you just can't interact with this old friend, and rightly so, they were just awful in their behavior during the disagreement!!!  

Now look at the bold words from above.....the disagreement was in your perception so egregious.  What if you perception was wrong?  What if you changed your perception, which then changed your belief about the instance, which then changed the experience you had with this friend.  So go back to the actual disagreement in your imagination and replay as much of it as you can in your mind, with one exception, change how you perceive your friends intent, or change your intent from one of being hurt to one of understanding what may be causing the disagreement.......instead of the experience ending with harsh words, imagine that you tell your friend "Can we push the rewind button, because I'm not sure how we got to where we are right now & I care too much for our friendship to not work towards getting to at least a common ground understanding of where each of us is coming from?"  

In your imagination, work through the disagreement from Gratitude and Appreciation for the friendship and the friend and dialogue with them coming from this perspective and see what happens in your mind.  What was the end result?  Maybe you still disagree, but agree to disagree and not lose the friendship.....or maybe you both realize the disagreement came from your egoic selves and not your true selves.  Now think about how you feel about this person, do you miss them?  Do you want to call them?  Maybe they have moved away and you don't have contact with them, or maybe they have since died..........or maybe you call them and reconcile the difference and rekindle the friendship and it is stronger for having gone through the reconciliation.......regardless you have changed the way you feel about them and you have changed yourself......with or without contact with the friend.........and how good is that?

Try it out on something in your past that you want to change the way you feel about it.......because the way you feel about it, or perceive that it took place created a belief you are operating from.........and it may not be serving you, especially if the perception you have of that experience is wrong.  How do you know if it was wrong?  Think in terms of is how you feel about it working for you or not working for you?.........is it holding you back or propelling you forward?  In other words is it coming from Love or Fear (false evidence appearing real)?  Remember that growth and expansion come from Love, protection and  contraction come from fear.  If it's fear, change it, change yourself and change the world!!!
     

Saturday, April 12, 2008

So how are You?.....How are you seeing the world?

What meaning are you giving to your experience?  Right now!!  What meaning are you giving to reading this post, or what meaning are you giving to the fact that you made your way to this Blog?  Stop and think about it!!

The meaning I have with this Blog is learning, actually more remembering who I am and tapping into my true potential.  As I remember who my True Self is, its an absolute joy watching the change in my thinking, and as the change in my thinking takes place, the changes in my experience are nothing less than delicious.  Oh, I catch myself going down an egoic mind rant every once in a while, but thats delicious too......I catch myself and I change my mind, or my perception of whatever the issue was that triggered the ego......and I see it for what it was.  An opportunity to recreate myself into the greatest version of myself that I have never even dreamed of.

Which by the way, can you see that your feelings are with you before the external experience appears.........and it works both ways, good feelings precede good external experiences and bad feelings precede bad external experiences.......without exception!!!!   So, you have a feeling, a corresponding experience comes to you and you react to that experience with a feeling associated with your percpetion....and depending on your perception of the external experience, you either change the feeling which in turn changes your experience or you add to the feeling and the experience snowballs.

Remember this;
Experience shapes Perception
Perception creates Beliefs
Beliefs reinforce Perception
Perception shapes Experience
and Experience reinforces Beliefs

Your thoughts and the feelings you have from having those thoughts are what start the process that is happening behind the scenes......so be Picky about your thoughts!!!!! And change them when they are not creating the feelings you desire.......positive, utter well being!!!!

To reinforce the facts of how the Universe works and to create the "Knowing" that you and only you can create your experience, try the following exercise:

The next time you feel frustration or angst or any feeling of uneasiness, step back and deliberately change your thinking, the perspective on the situation or cause of the feeling.  Change the context in which you are viewing the experience.  For instance, at work you become frustrated by an outcome of a project or task that you have been working on and you notice it.  Stop!!!!  Have an internal dialogue with yourself something like this.....While the result of this work was not satisfying to me, I can see now where I could have done some things differently that will benefit me in the work I do in the future, and the work that I do is meaningful and productive.  I'm grateful to have the opportunity to do this work, and the result of this work is beneficial to many different people, and it is a very good opportunity for me to grow in my abilities and knowing who I truly Am.......and while I was briefly frustrated, I realize that feeling does not serve me and is not beneficial in doing my best work and I choose to release that feeling and replace it with optimism and gratitude that I can change the way I feel in a moment..........and just sit with that new feeling for a minute or two.......and watch the changes that take place in your experience. 

See the world as you wish to deliberately, not by default!!!!  And when you do, Thank You for the positive effect you have on those you interact with!!!!
 

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Do you see the world as it is, or as you are?

You do not see the world as it is!!!  Sorry, you see it as you are!!!!  Yep, as you are!!!

That is why you can have 10 people witness the same accident and tell 10 different stories of what happened.  Oh, the stories may be similar, but they will all be a little different.  And that is the beauty of this point.......just a little difference makes a huge difference, no pun intended.

You see the world as you are!!  And what is it that causes you to be as you are?  Perception!!!  Which is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory information.  This is big!!!  Perception is life, It is where every action comes from......at the molecular level it is what causes regeneration of cells.....in other words perception is what stimulates our DNA to release the RNA to complete whatever function the cell percieves it needs to perform.  Read Bruce Lipton's "The Biology of Belief"  or better yet, go see him him speak about epi-genetics if you have the chance.

Okay, So perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory information.  As you perceive, so you believe......which is where your actions are derived from.  Stay with me.......so what if your perception is slightly off......or completely off?  Well thats easy, thats why planes are flown into buildings, and wars have been fought for thousands of years in the name of GOD!!!

One of my favorite teachers says we are sloppy and lazy thinkers.......which is right!!!  Think about it, you give some thought to what you wear in the morning, you are fairly picky about the friends you have, the food you eat, where you go on vacation.......but how picky are you about the thoughts you have?  How picky are you about your perceptions which is where your actions are derived from.........and where the state of your body is derived from.  Aside from genetic defects which exist in only 5% of us, every disease (dis-ease) is allowed to manifest due to the perceptions made by you at the cellular level.  So if you believe that because your family has a history of heart disease or cancer, that you will "get" it.....well, chances are that you will.   And if you believe that you control your body and it's function and you are not pre-disposed to a particular disease.....Well, you are in control and you are not pre-disposed!!

Okay, enough Biology, but it's important to know........so now let's look at sensory information.  Sight, Hearing, Smell, Taste and Touch......the five traditional senses, but what about Knowing, or Intuition.....or what about Inspiration (In-spirit)....Are those sensory devices?  Of course they are, if you use them.  If actions come from beliefs that are derived from perceptions, what happens if you do not fully use your senses to perceive?  Well, Perceptual deficits lead to deficits in action......sometimes very profoundly.  How often do you say to yourself, "Damn, I knew I should have......" or something to that effect.  Especially when you get a gut feeling or a knowing in your heart......run with it, gut decisions and decisions made by the heart are 100% accurate......they have yet to develop self doubt like the thinking rational mind. 

So the next time things just don't seem to working out the way you want them to, step back and find a new way to look at your goal or the situation you find yourself in.  Kind of the difference between "Why?" and "Why Not?"  It's all about perspective and context!!!   



  

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Living with the Illusion, as opposed to living in the Illusion

Living with the Illusion or Living in the Illusion? If you have been reading these posts you have noticed that the topics generally deal with you being responsible for everything that you experience. Concepts like, the only meaning anything has is the meaning you give it, and you create your own reality, and the illusion that you need anything, and your beliefs dictate your behavior, and that you are working to fully know yourself all point to YOU as the only one responsible for your experience.

They also make very clear that there is no exception. It is a full time gig to be the creator of your own reality and everything you have (or do not have) as your experience. I talk to quite a few people that are attempting to deliberately manifest things by use of Attraction and the most common question that they have is "when do I get my stuff?".....and before I get into the mechanics of why they are not getting their "stuff" I tell them "when you are deserving". I get a kick out of the looks that I get when I say that.

Here is what I mean, and that comment is not a judgement by the way, it's more an observation. Asking the question "when do I get my stuff" on the surface is a counter intention. It is coming from a belief that supports not having it.....be it a belief of lack, that you have to work hard, that you need stuff to be happy, or be it that there is a finite amount of "stuff". But the counter intention is not the real issue.......the real issue is that these people like the vast majority of people have forgotten who they truly are.......who their True Self is.

"Stuff" is temporal, Your True Self is not!!! Do you really think your True Self, the Self that was never born and will never die, the Self that is in this world but not of it, would spend an ounce of energy on Stuff that relative to eternity will exist for a nano second? I could be wrong, but I doubt it!!!

Now let's be clear, I'm not down on "stuff", I like it.....I have it, and better stuff just keeps coming. But the best "stuff" comes from my alignment with my True Self, being connected with my highest goal.......It's what I was talking about yesterday that knowing your True Self is the Blueprint for having, being or doing what your heart desires. When connected or tapped in to your True Self your actions emerge from seemingly nowhere (now here) and allow you to recognize what the infinite intelligence and wisdom of all that is has provided for you.

When I said yesterday to know specifically what you want, I was not talking about specific stuff, temporal stuff that is fleeting, I meant have the very specific desire to know your Self fully, and as you move toward remembering your True Self enjoy the people and yes, the "Stuff" that comes into your experience. When what you want is "stuff" you are living in the Illusion and not with it!!
The absolute best and easiest way to check if you are living in the Illusion is to ask yourself "How do I feel about everyone else, or everything for that matter?" If you have ill will toward anyone else, If you do not Love them and their differences from you........you are living in the Illusion and have forgotten who You truly are. And the minute you realize this is the moment you moved to a position of living with the Illusion for the purpose of remembering who you truly are. every moment of every day is the new opportunity to choose who You are, choose well!!!

Saturday, April 5, 2008

If You do not go within, you go without!!!!

What the heck does that mean?  For that matter, what exactly does "know thyself" or "the kingdom of heaven is within you" or "I Am that I Am" mean?.....I'm asked that quite a bit.  And in a minute I will lay out how I define the meaning for each....and they are all the same.

Whenever I am working with someone, I always ask right at the beginning of the discussion..."What do you want?"......and for the most part they can't define what it is that they want....some even say, "I'm not sure".   Some other common responses are "I want to be happy" or "I want to be rich beyond belief" or "I want a relationship" or "I want a job that I love".  

My next question is "What is keeping you from achieving that?".......and usually the answer is "I don't know" or "Things just are not working out" or "maybe it's just not meant to be".  But really the issue has to do with two very simple concepts, the first is generally what people want are materialistic or temporal things......and nothing wrong with that, you can have them, you can have anything you want........but you have to know specifically what it is that you want.  What is happy?  What is rich beyond belief?  What is a relationship or a job that you love?  Your the only one that can define those things or anything else for that matter.   

The second concept is that the vast majority of people don't know themselves.  I want to make this point painfully clear, unless you who are reading this are one of a very few people, you do not know yourself......your True Self!!!  If that pissed you off, you definitely do not know yourself....your True Self, anyway!!!

Ask yourself these two questions?

Who is my True Self?
What is my Purpose?

When I say True Self, I don't mean your role in life, your title at work, or even you name or ego.  I mean at the essence of your being, who are you?  Your not the body reading this, your not the emotions that kick in as you interpret your life experience, and no, your not bank account or investment portfolio......Your True Self is the self that has never been born and will never die!!!  Read that again, Your True Self is that part of you that was never born and will never die!!  So what does that leave?  How about an individuation of the source of all things, physical and non-physical?  Infinite wisdom, creativity, all that is.  

Now if your with me on this, reason stands that I am an individuation of the same source, as is every other person alive, and every living thing, essentially everything!!!  So if that were the case, and it is, why do we treat each other so badly at times, or why do we treat the earth with such disrespect, or why do we fly planes into buildings, or why do we take our own lives, or why do we fight over and sometimes kill in the name of GOD?

The answer is the second of the two questions from above, We have forgotten or in many instances never really defined clearly what our purpose is!!!  What if our purpose is to remember who we are and what we are capable of.   How would we behave as a species if we knew at all times that we are from the same source and eternally connected?  

Think about that, don't just read over it and continue.....how would we behave?  Do you think we would have borders protected with armed guards?  Would there be drive by shootings?  Would there be starving children anywhere in the world?  Would there be anyone without a home?  Of course not, there would be none of that!!  We would come and go as we pleased, we would extend assistance to anyone that we perceived needed it, and we would treat the Earth as we treat everything....with respect!!!  Get the picture?  How good would that be?  better yet, How good will that be?  Pretty freakin' awesome!!!

So back to where this post all started!!!!  So what does "If you do not go within, you go without", "know thyself", "the kingdom of heaven is within you" and "I Am that I Am".....and I want to throw one more in...."These things and greater shall you do" mean?  Well, for me it means when I understand at my essence who I am, anything is possible, and every moment of every day is my opportunity to live my purpose, be the greatest version of myself that I have ever envisioned and change the world......or it's not, and it's up to me to choose!!!  Part of that is understanding that by not choosing to remember, is still a choice.......but how dis-empowering is that choice?

Now back to the materialistic and temporal things that we all desire!!!  Knowing your True Self is the blueprint for having, being or doing what your heart desires.....knowing your True Self allows your actions to be aligned with your being......they emerge not from thought, but from the immense intelligence and energy that is the source of all that is!!!!

So what does Toemaas want?  Thats easy, I want every moment to be leveraged knowing that I AM in the flow of the Universe, using every moment of everyday to remember that I AM but a part of the source of all things and as such I am capable of being, doing or having anything.   Do I want a bunch of stuff?  No!!!!  I enjoy watching what manifests for me based on being tapped in and tuned in to my True Self.........And how much fun is it recognizing the new things that I didn't even know I didn't know....Ridiculous!!!