Experience has taught me that no crisis situation is as terrible as it first appears and that every crisis situation has its own lessons and advantages, just that you must be objective enough to discover them. When faced with a crisis situation, still keep your cool. Think clearly, objectively and optimistically and you’ll be able to find solution(s) to the seemingly dreadful situation. Shockingly, you’ll even find some good in the bad situation. So whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever the crises may be, however mighty and threatening the crises may be, don’t give in. Effective management of the crisis situation is your best bet.
Don’t let any crisis situation rob you of your dreams. Be indomitable. Be optimistic. Be objective. Be innovative. Be patient. Be successful.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Old Kung Fu Principle
It is better to avoid than to block,
It is better to block than to strike,
It is better to strike than to hurt,
It is better to hurt than to maim,
It is better to maim than to kill,
It is better to kill than to be killed,
All life is precious and none can be replaced
It is better to block than to strike,
It is better to strike than to hurt,
It is better to hurt than to maim,
It is better to maim than to kill,
It is better to kill than to be killed,
All life is precious and none can be replaced
The Four Agreements
The Four Agreements
Toltec Wisdom by Don Miguel Ruiz M.D.
Don’t Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
Don’t Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do it because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
Be Impeccable, With Your Word
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment, it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.
Toltec Wisdom by Don Miguel Ruiz M.D.
Don’t Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
Don’t Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do it because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
Be Impeccable, With Your Word
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment, it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Confidence From Within
A strong belief in ourselves helps us feel more confident and self-assured, regardless of the responses we receive from others. Feeling defensive or intimidated by others is usually a sure sign that we are not confident within ourselves. If we make it a priority to build up a solid belief about ourselves, we immediately begin to feel more empowered. Our self-assurance grows, and we feel good about who we are. We are able to remain true to ourselves and honor ourselves, even when others may criticize or disapprove of us. By working to build up a solid belief in yourself , you will be investing in a much stronger, confident you.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Self Worth
By fostering a strong belief in our value as human beings, we develop an unshakable sense of self-worth and confidence, regardless of the praise or criticism we receive from others. We often tend to base our perception of worthiness on the feedback we receive from others, believing ourselves to be valuable if others express acceptance of us. While we all want to be liked and admired by others, we can develop a stronger belief in ourselves by fostering our own sense of self-worth from within. The more we believe in ourselves and our own worth, the more valuable and confident we feel. We are then able to honor ourselves for who we are, rather than looking to others to do it for us. Developing a strong sense of self-worth from within can provide a powerful sense of self-acceptance that fills you with confidence and joy.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Every time you replay thoughts and patterns in your mind, you create pathways or ruts, if you will, in your brain. This pathway becomes the path of least resistance whenever you're triggered. You can become so entrenched in behavior patterns, you don't even consider that there's another way to think, feel, or act. Nor, that you can choose to do these differently. Create a pathway that allows for shift to happen.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Unoccupied And Alert
Avoid most of the traps for your ego. Transcending unconscious, irrational and limiting beliefs opens you to self-enquiry. Understanding that surrender is the only real solution brings a divine gracefulness to your life. Yet all of this is secondary to meditation: sitting silently doing nothing is the most effective method of spiritual growth. By remaining unoccupied and alert to your inner world, many miracles happen. You become aware of the subtle energies in the depth of your being. You contact, expose and heal the old wounds of early life. You find freedom from the thought processes that limit your life energy, and eventually you discover what you really are: silent blissful awareness, beyond all trace of subtle thought.
Now the moment of truth is upon us; the time for silent meditation has arrived. Prepare yourself to face the light by any method that suits you. Yoga, martial arts, therapy. Dance, sing and celebrate. Meet life with an open heart. Make spiritual growth your priority and allow the flow of life to carry you deeper and deeper inside with as few unverified beliefs as possible. Don't take spiritual growth too seriously.
Now the moment of truth is upon us; the time for silent meditation has arrived. Prepare yourself to face the light by any method that suits you. Yoga, martial arts, therapy. Dance, sing and celebrate. Meet life with an open heart. Make spiritual growth your priority and allow the flow of life to carry you deeper and deeper inside with as few unverified beliefs as possible. Don't take spiritual growth too seriously.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
The Ingredients Of A Happy Life
It wasn’t until about 25 years ago that I realized how simple it really is to be happy. Notice I didn’t say it’s always easy—although it often is that too!
What I have discovered is that virtually anyone, by learning about five simple concepts, can become much happier than ever before. I don’t mean happy “all time,” but most of the time for sure, and even when we lose our way, it’s pretty simple to guide ourselves back in the right direction.
Let me introduce five simple principles very briefly here and then I’ll speak a little bit about their applications in our daily lives.
1) The first principle is that of “thought.” In short, our ability to think creates our psychological experience of life and most importantly, thinking is a voluntary function. In other words, we produce the thoughts---we think them up! And, with no time in-between, we feel the effects of those thoughts. That’s why it’s so critical to be aware that you are the one producing and thinking your own thoughts.
If you ever tried to scare yourself with your own voice, you’d be out of luck. Why? Because, very simply, you’d always be one step ahead of yourself----you’d know it was you who was saying “boo.”! By becoming aware that we are the producers of our own thoughts, we can have a similar insight. We will always have thoughts to contend with, but once we realize that we create and produce them, it’s pretty hard to be freaked out by them.
Instead of bumming ourselves out or getting angry or scared, we simply say to ourselves, “Whoops, there I go again,” reminding yourself that you’re having what you might come to call a “thought attack.” If you have any type of thought and know it’s “just a thought,” and it’s stemming from inside of you, it’s easy to drop it, and bring yourself back to this precious moment.
2) The principle of moods is incredibly simple. When we’re in a “good” mood, life generally looks pretty good. But when we’re in a “bad” mood, the same life (and that’s the key)! The exact same life looks drastically different. All of a sudden the partner you were so in love with is problamic, the car you drive doesn’t look so good and your future looks less than promising.
But how can this be? While in a good mood, you’re totally in love, the car you drive is absolutely fine and your future looks great. I could give a hundred other examples, but I’m sure you get the point. Your life doesn’t change-----only your mood does. Knowing this changes everything. When you’re down, you feel it and you make allowances for it. You don’t take your own thinking very seriously at all.
Instead, it’s a waiting game. You wait until your mood returns to a better state and then you think about your problems. Same with other people. You begin to recognize when someone is in a low mood and when they are, you don’t take what they say and do very seriously. It’s really that simple. Everyone is subject to moods and when any of us are in a low mood we will say and do things we wouldn’t even consider while in a better frame of mind. Knowing this is a huge advantage. You learn to make allowances for others and their moods---and you get used to the expression, “But for the grace of God, go I.”
When you do suppose most people discuss their problems? While in a low mood of course, because that’s when life has a sense of urgency. But ironically, you can't solve a problem when your low because you have lost your wisdom, common sense and happiness. But when your mood rises, you’ll have your wisdom back and life will look good again! I used to tell couples about this trick all the time and, frequently, one of the partners’ would say to me, “But Richard, if we waited until our mood rose to discuss our problems, it wouldn’t seem like we had problems to discuss.” “That’s the point,” I would say.
3) The third principle is called Separate Psychological Realities. Essentially, this means that because we all think uniquely, we each live if a separate psychological reality. This one is easy to apply. All you have to do is expect, rather than be surprised or disappointed when someone disagrees with you or can’t see things your way. Of course they can’t!
4) Fourth is the principle of feelings. This is probably my favorite and is certainly the simplest. Essentially, all you have to do is pay attention to your feelings. Then, depending on what you are feeling, you use that information to guide you as to what to do. For example, if you’re angry, instead of “thinking” about why you’re angry, you use the angry feelings to remind yourself that you’re a little off base, because again, your goal is to be happy.
You must be thinking angry thoughts or you would be having different types of feelings. Your feelings, positive or negative, are not “bad,” they are simply information and they are foolproof in letting you know where you stand and what needs to be done.
5) The last principle is to live more of our life in the present moment. By using our feelings, we can tell when our mind is drifting away from this moment—which is so common in today’s world. But as you bring your attention back to just this moment, you’ll begin to feel the joy of each precious moment of life. When you’re bothered or irritated, it will usually be because you’re thinking about something that is already over or something that is yet to be.
Practice bringing your attention to the here and now and you’ll be one of the happiest people on earth! Life is a magical adventure when you are right here to enjoy it!
___________
Richard Carlson, PhD, was considered one of the world's foremost experts on happiness and stress reduction. As the author of thirty popular books, which have sold more than 26 million copies worldwide, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, he showed millions of people how to not let the small things get the best of them.
* Based on the book You Can Be Happy No Matter What, 15th Anniversary edition Copyright © 2006 by Richard Carlson, PhD, Reprinted with permission from New World Library, Novato, CA USA 94949, 1-800-972-6657, www.NewWorldLibrary.com.
What I have discovered is that virtually anyone, by learning about five simple concepts, can become much happier than ever before. I don’t mean happy “all time,” but most of the time for sure, and even when we lose our way, it’s pretty simple to guide ourselves back in the right direction.
Let me introduce five simple principles very briefly here and then I’ll speak a little bit about their applications in our daily lives.
1) The first principle is that of “thought.” In short, our ability to think creates our psychological experience of life and most importantly, thinking is a voluntary function. In other words, we produce the thoughts---we think them up! And, with no time in-between, we feel the effects of those thoughts. That’s why it’s so critical to be aware that you are the one producing and thinking your own thoughts.
If you ever tried to scare yourself with your own voice, you’d be out of luck. Why? Because, very simply, you’d always be one step ahead of yourself----you’d know it was you who was saying “boo.”! By becoming aware that we are the producers of our own thoughts, we can have a similar insight. We will always have thoughts to contend with, but once we realize that we create and produce them, it’s pretty hard to be freaked out by them.
Instead of bumming ourselves out or getting angry or scared, we simply say to ourselves, “Whoops, there I go again,” reminding yourself that you’re having what you might come to call a “thought attack.” If you have any type of thought and know it’s “just a thought,” and it’s stemming from inside of you, it’s easy to drop it, and bring yourself back to this precious moment.
2) The principle of moods is incredibly simple. When we’re in a “good” mood, life generally looks pretty good. But when we’re in a “bad” mood, the same life (and that’s the key)! The exact same life looks drastically different. All of a sudden the partner you were so in love with is problamic, the car you drive doesn’t look so good and your future looks less than promising.
But how can this be? While in a good mood, you’re totally in love, the car you drive is absolutely fine and your future looks great. I could give a hundred other examples, but I’m sure you get the point. Your life doesn’t change-----only your mood does. Knowing this changes everything. When you’re down, you feel it and you make allowances for it. You don’t take your own thinking very seriously at all.
Instead, it’s a waiting game. You wait until your mood returns to a better state and then you think about your problems. Same with other people. You begin to recognize when someone is in a low mood and when they are, you don’t take what they say and do very seriously. It’s really that simple. Everyone is subject to moods and when any of us are in a low mood we will say and do things we wouldn’t even consider while in a better frame of mind. Knowing this is a huge advantage. You learn to make allowances for others and their moods---and you get used to the expression, “But for the grace of God, go I.”
When you do suppose most people discuss their problems? While in a low mood of course, because that’s when life has a sense of urgency. But ironically, you can't solve a problem when your low because you have lost your wisdom, common sense and happiness. But when your mood rises, you’ll have your wisdom back and life will look good again! I used to tell couples about this trick all the time and, frequently, one of the partners’ would say to me, “But Richard, if we waited until our mood rose to discuss our problems, it wouldn’t seem like we had problems to discuss.” “That’s the point,” I would say.
3) The third principle is called Separate Psychological Realities. Essentially, this means that because we all think uniquely, we each live if a separate psychological reality. This one is easy to apply. All you have to do is expect, rather than be surprised or disappointed when someone disagrees with you or can’t see things your way. Of course they can’t!
4) Fourth is the principle of feelings. This is probably my favorite and is certainly the simplest. Essentially, all you have to do is pay attention to your feelings. Then, depending on what you are feeling, you use that information to guide you as to what to do. For example, if you’re angry, instead of “thinking” about why you’re angry, you use the angry feelings to remind yourself that you’re a little off base, because again, your goal is to be happy.
You must be thinking angry thoughts or you would be having different types of feelings. Your feelings, positive or negative, are not “bad,” they are simply information and they are foolproof in letting you know where you stand and what needs to be done.
5) The last principle is to live more of our life in the present moment. By using our feelings, we can tell when our mind is drifting away from this moment—which is so common in today’s world. But as you bring your attention back to just this moment, you’ll begin to feel the joy of each precious moment of life. When you’re bothered or irritated, it will usually be because you’re thinking about something that is already over or something that is yet to be.
Practice bringing your attention to the here and now and you’ll be one of the happiest people on earth! Life is a magical adventure when you are right here to enjoy it!
___________
Richard Carlson, PhD, was considered one of the world's foremost experts on happiness and stress reduction. As the author of thirty popular books, which have sold more than 26 million copies worldwide, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, he showed millions of people how to not let the small things get the best of them.
* Based on the book You Can Be Happy No Matter What, 15th Anniversary edition Copyright © 2006 by Richard Carlson, PhD, Reprinted with permission from New World Library, Novato, CA USA 94949, 1-800-972-6657, www.NewWorldLibrary.com.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Change Your Thoughts – Creating Positive Thought Patterns
A belief is nothing more than a chronic pattern of thought, and you have the ability to change your patterns of thought at any time. It just takes a bit of conscious effort at first, until you get the hang of it.
I found a great example of this idea while reading an excerpt in Unity Magazine, of an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert, best-selling author of the book, Eat, Pray, Love.
In her interview, she talked about repeating the phrase “I will not harbor unhealthy thoughts anymore, a mantra that she would invoke 700 times a day. That mantra sparked a vision of a harbor with ships carrying negative thoughts attempting to drop anchor. When one of those ships would attempt to enter the harbor of her mind, she would envision it being turned away." I love this analogy.
Chronic patterns of thought are merely thoughts that have been held in mind and rehearsed over and over again, like a play. Just because a negative thought presents itself in the mind does not mean you have to get out the popcorn, pull up chair, and stay for acts one, two and three. You can simply refuse to take part in the mental drama and move onto something else.
Anytime you find yourself repeating old patterns of behavior that no longer serve your highest good, it’s time to say goodbye to the old thoughts in order to make room for some new ones.
By consistently refusing to harbor negative thoughts and consciously choosing those that feel better, negative thought patterns automatically morph into positive thought patterns. It just takes some conscious effort to begin "playing a new tune".
It is analogous to having forty-one flavors of ice cream to choose from and choosing vanilla every time. It might take a little bit of time to retrain your mind to the idea that chocolate is also a possibility.
Negativity is not something you are born with, it is a learned pattern of behavior. When you are willing to change your thought process from one that is self-sabotaging to one that is self-empowering, your life will change in ways you could never have imagined. It is like being your own mental bodyguard in a way; you always have your back.
As Elizabeth Gilbert so eloquently pointed out, you can stop harboring unhealthy thoughts at anytime. Start today! Your thoughts can change. Your story can change. Your life can change.
http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/change_your_thoughts_creating_positive_thought_patterns
Kathleen Bren
www.soulfulgirls.com.
I found a great example of this idea while reading an excerpt in Unity Magazine, of an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert, best-selling author of the book, Eat, Pray, Love.
In her interview, she talked about repeating the phrase “I will not harbor unhealthy thoughts anymore, a mantra that she would invoke 700 times a day. That mantra sparked a vision of a harbor with ships carrying negative thoughts attempting to drop anchor. When one of those ships would attempt to enter the harbor of her mind, she would envision it being turned away." I love this analogy.
Chronic patterns of thought are merely thoughts that have been held in mind and rehearsed over and over again, like a play. Just because a negative thought presents itself in the mind does not mean you have to get out the popcorn, pull up chair, and stay for acts one, two and three. You can simply refuse to take part in the mental drama and move onto something else.
Anytime you find yourself repeating old patterns of behavior that no longer serve your highest good, it’s time to say goodbye to the old thoughts in order to make room for some new ones.
By consistently refusing to harbor negative thoughts and consciously choosing those that feel better, negative thought patterns automatically morph into positive thought patterns. It just takes some conscious effort to begin "playing a new tune".
It is analogous to having forty-one flavors of ice cream to choose from and choosing vanilla every time. It might take a little bit of time to retrain your mind to the idea that chocolate is also a possibility.
Negativity is not something you are born with, it is a learned pattern of behavior. When you are willing to change your thought process from one that is self-sabotaging to one that is self-empowering, your life will change in ways you could never have imagined. It is like being your own mental bodyguard in a way; you always have your back.
As Elizabeth Gilbert so eloquently pointed out, you can stop harboring unhealthy thoughts at anytime. Start today! Your thoughts can change. Your story can change. Your life can change.
http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/change_your_thoughts_creating_positive_thought_patterns
Kathleen Bren
www.soulfulgirls.com.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Wisdom From Shrelock Holmes
"I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it."
~Sherlock Holmes
~Sherlock Holmes
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