Making an excuse about why, once again, I did not sleep well the night before, prompted the “gotcha!” . . .

“No, you have the same problem I do. You have a hard time letting go of the past and not realizing your future possibilities. You can blame it on whatever it was, but that’s the issue you’re facing.”

Have you ever needed to make a decision, once and for all, and you just cannot put closure to it?

The more serious the circumstances, the more difficult the decision making process. How does your body act out while you are in the throughs of ruminating over all the details in your mind, over and over and over again?

One thing is for sure – your body does act out. Obvious symptoms may present themselves as insomnia, weight loss, weight gain, etc. However, perhaps the more serious consequences are taking place and you don’t even know it. . .such as the damaging effects to your body organs from chronically elevated cortisol levels.

What keeps you stuck? What paralyzes you, preventing you from making that final decision? Here’s a simple tool that may help.  Take a look at these words from  www.higherawareness.com:

Where are you not being true to yourself?

All blocks arise when we’re not being authentic, when we’re not being true to ourselves. We know we’re not being authentic when we feel discomfort of any kind.

When our thoughts, feelings and actions align with our essence, we express the qualities of soul. Always trust that your soul knows what’s best for you.

Believe in yourself and act on your ideas. Give yourself permission to do what you want with your life. Take the initiative to set meaningful goals for yourself and achieve them. Begin to tell yourself why you CAN have what you want!

Here’s the bottom line. What are you feeling? Does it feel good? Does it feel bad? How would your soul answer those questions?

Do you ever tell yourself, “Well, if I just worked at it a little harder it would be different, or it would work out,” or “If only I did (fill in the blank).”

Now think about it, why would you have to “work at” something to make it feel right? If it is the right decision, why wouldn’t it just naturally feel good?

And then there’s the thing about making a difference. It seems innate to have an inner drive to make a difference in the world or in someone’s life. However, here is an interesting twist. What is the driving force behind your desire? Is it lack of worthiness?

Again, from Higher Awareness:

Making a difference

Does the drive to make a difference arise from ego’s need to feel worthy? If my ego is not convinced that I matter, I may want visible proof that I do by making some kind of impact on life.

Soul doesn’t need proof that it’s worthy. Soul thrives in being awake and connected. Perhaps if we let go of the pressure we feel from our ego’s need to be recognized, we will be more open and able to simply live soulfully. And by doing that, we WILL make a difference!

You are worthy. You do matter. You deserve to be happy.

At any given moment, ask yourself, “How do I feel?” If you feel good, press on. If you don’t, it’s time for a course correction.

“Always trust that your soul knows what’s best for you.”

Above all else, be true to you.

This is the time of your life. How are you spending it?

Following my little bout with a GI virus this weekend, I mentioned my appreciation of health to a friend.

Did I ever feel small when she replied, “Oh, I know what you mean. My friend called me this morning and asked me to pray for her. All she wants is enough strength to lift her head up off the pillow today to do a load of laundry. She has liver cancer, and she just had another round of chemo.”

All she wants is the strength to do a load of laundry. Quite the lesson in appreciation?

Then last night I gazed at the threatening clouds as we made our way through heavy Chicago traffic with a truck full of uncovered furniture. In my great wisdom, completely forgetting the lesson from hours before, I commented, “Looks like I might be sleeping in a wet bed tonight.”

At that very moment, we rounded the corner, and there in the sweltering heat and humidity lay a homeless man, face down on the ground alongside the major thoroughfare. I turned to my son, our eyes met, and nonverbally we communicated the lesson. After a moment I replied, “OK, I am going to shut my mouth now. I’d be happy to sleep in a wet bed.” He replied, “Exactly.”

No matter how pleasant or difficult the moment, this is your life. How are you spending it? What thoughts do you hold about your current moment? Appreciation and gratitude for what is? Or complaint and despair for what is not?

This is the time of your life. How are you spending it?

“There is one solemn truth: nothing lasts. Live in the moment.”

Those were the words that jumped off a notepad as I was cleaning this morning. Without realizing, the words took me on a long mental trip.

I thought about the great conversation I had had with my daughter in the car the other day, the memories of a relationship gone by, the feeling of utter despair as I writhed in agony with my GI illness this past weekend, the laughter we had at dinner last night with my grown sons, the death of a family member in the night. . .yes, the moment doesn’t last. In an instant, the moment is gone, only to become a memory.

From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Buddhism:

“Looking further, he saw how nothing lasts in the dance of life. The cloud passes away in the sun. The leaf falls to the earth. Similarly, he, too, was part of not only the interdependence but also the impermanence of all life.

Why not fully live each moment when each moment occurs only once, yet contains the potential of all of life in each instant?”

Interdependence. . .no matter our shape, size,  personality, or values, we are all here as one, living each moment the best we can.

Sometimes we waste our moments in judgment of ourselves or others. I love this quote from tut.com:

“To young souls, Rosie, there are good folks and bad folks.

And old souls, only see themselves.

I see you,
The Universe

And they love, love, love, Rosie.”

What if today you make an effort to be fully present in the moment? To really see you? To love, love, love yourself and every other person who crosses your path as if this is your last moment, your last opportunity in the dance of life?

As French novelist Marcel Proust writes, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

What if today you look at life with new eyes, with a new appreciation for each moment, no matter what the moment may bring?

It’s now the day after the 4^th. Do you look over your house and see the remains of last night’s celebrating? Is the sink full of dishes? Does the lawn display the firework remnants? Does your waistband feel overly snug? Is your head full of visions of going back to work tomorrow?

“It is possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis.”

—  Margaret Wander Bonanno

Even the day after the 4^th of July.

It all starts in this moment. . . with you taking care of you.

Valerie Monroe writes in this week’s O Magazine, Why It’s Okay (Actually, Essential) to Put Yourself First:

“Taking on responsibilities that might be well or even better handled by others is one of the ways we begin to lose our balance and slide down the slippery slope from generosity to martyrdom. Because women are likely to be the primary caretakers for husbands and children as well as for aging parents, we have ample opportunity to fall into the pattern of serving the people we love before we serve ourselves.

But there are good reasons to be judicious about that. ‘If you always put someone else first, there’s a tendency for others to depreciate you, to lose respect, because respect comes from an understanding that that person has her own wishes, dreams, and desires,’ says Ethel S. Person, MD, author of Feeling Strong: The Achievement of Authentic Power.”

Yehuda Berg writes in the July 4^th issue of the Weekly Kabbalah Tune Up:

“An amazing thing about the world in which we live is the random things that seem to happen aren’t ever really random. And these ‘random’ things don’t happen to us. They happen for us.

Yet we only see the hidden order in chaos after the fact. If only we could see it in the moment…

And this is what I’d like to charge you with this week: Practice seeing perfection in the moment. Sounds very Zen, I know, but there is a science, so-to-speak, behind it.

The instant we recognize there’s a design beneath disorder, we’re actually propelling ourselves towards clarity. We’re speeding up the process. We’re injecting Light into the darkness.”

So, how about this plan on the day after all the celebrating?

1) Take care of you first.

2) Recruit some help to clean up after last night’s celebrating.

3) Practice seeing perfection in the moment.

4) Live happily ever after –  on a day-to-day basis.

How about starting today?

“Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.”

Interesting quote by Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862.

Who writes the rules of life anyway? Who creates the jails?

In The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Buddhism, author Gary Gach writes:

“He (Budda) saw clearly now the jail, which we ourselves construct, in which we entrap ourselves, and which we ourselves police. But whatever is constructed will deconstruct. He saw, too, the happiness of being free.

He understood that what we call our life is but a wave, not the ocean. He became one with that ocean, and all the rivers and raindrops flowing into it. He saw the morning star in the sky as if for the first time, his mind as clear as a mirror, and his heart as wide now as the world, almost overflowing with understanding and love. The luminous, joyous starlight matched the smile on his lips. This was it. He had found out. Now he was fully awake.

So happy! He had finally found complete freedom from all unnecessary mortal suffering.”

Speaker Kimberly Herkert offers, “As human beings, we are not capable of seeing the big picture for anyone’s situation. As a result, we are not able to judge what is best for anyone, including ourselves.”

A close friend will immediately correct me every time I comment about a “mistake” that I have made. She teaches me that there are no “mistakes.” Everything is just as it should be, and it serves absolutely no purpose to pass judgment – on others or ourselves.

Cicero, 106 BC-43 BC: “We must not say every mistake is a foolish one.”

Perhaps this message that I wrote to a friend this morning will have meaning for you as well:

“Another thought that comes to me after re-reading your message is this: don’t take yourself too seriously. The whole goal here in life is to be happy.

Yesterday I was in a conversation with a medical professional. He needed to get on to see his next patient. He first paused before turning away, looked me dead in the eye, and said ‘Have fun.’ It felt as if he was being guided to give me that message, particularly since it was so out of the blue from what we had just been talking about. His words simply did not fit the conversation, nor did the tone of his voice, which was not frivolous but very slow, deliberate, and serious. I perceived it was definitely a message to be given to me through him. Maybe now I am supposed to give it to you.

We don’t veer far off our path. I think we live our life purpose just by whatever we do day by day, but we don’t recognize it. We are always looking ‘out there’ for something because we think ‘surely this isn’t it.’ I have come to think that yes, surely it is. Living in the moment, finding peace and happiness, that is the goal. When we do that, everything else unfolds. Our soul will allow it to unfold. So, hey, maybe Bobby McFerrin’s song said it all, ‘Don’t worry. Be happy.’”

What’s the moral of today’s story?

What about this? Don’t worry so much about being too moral. Don’t lock yourself up in your own self-imposed jail. Don’t beat yourself up for making “mistakes.”

Have fun. Be happy.

An acquaintance had just announced he was going to stop smoking. On the ride home, I commented to my friend, “Do you think he will succeed? This is the highest stress he has been under in his entire life.”

My friend replied, “The hardest part is making the decision. Once the decision is made, it’s all downhill from there. It doesn’t matter what is going on in his life. It all comes down to making a decision.”

Everything starts with a decision. Wonder why it is that on this day, two messages then popped up regarding making a decision? The first comes from Neale Donald Walsh:

“On this day of your life, dear friend, I believe God wants you to know…

…that waiting to see what happens is not a very good way to make decisions.

Not to decide is to decide.

What are you deciding right now by not deciding?

What are you choosing by failing to choose?

Is this how you want to live your life: by default?

It is time for you to make a decision.

Do you need a bigger signal than this?

Love, Your Friend….”

The evening prior, I delivered a “Stop the Needless Suffering” presentation, helping the group to see that by first increasing their awareness and then making a decision, they would positively impact their life. A vibrant, happy life is right there for the taking – it simply starts with making a decision. (See my book trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6AhQNJ0fqs).

As Inna Segal advises, “Be guided to a new life by actions you can perform to restore your body to its healthiest state.”

Then there are decisions about what to do with your life. Do I go this way? Do I go that?

On this morning, my eyes were drawn to a box of Angel Cards by Doreen Virtue. The card I pulled from the deck was Vanessa. Vanessa’s message was:

“To make your decision, ask yourself, ‘Which way brings me closer to my Divine purpose? Which way takes me away from it?’”

Additional Message: ‘Should I go this way or that way?’ you wonder. One day, you’re sure of your decision. The next day, you question it again. This indecision will be healed by focusing on your Divine life purpose. Even if you aren’t sure of your purpose’s exact nature, you do know that it involves bringing peace to yourself and others. Based on this foundation, then, which decision brings you the most peace?

‘’If you’re still unsure, then ask God and the angels to help you further. You can ask us, ‘Which decision will help the most people?’ This is a wonderful basis upon which to make your choice. Sometimes the easiest route is the one that takes you further away from your Divine purpose. So, your indecision may come from a fear of making waves, or uncertainty about your future. In such cases, gradual change is warranted. Slowly introduce your new direction into your daily life, and ease out of your old direction slowly. In that way, you won’t frighten yourself, you will be more open to hearing God’s guidance, and you will feel our love.

Bottom line: it all starts with a decision…indecision is a decision. What do you want your body/your life to look like? How can you set upon gradual change? Are you open to hearing your internal guidance?

Remember: the hardest part is making a decision. It’s all downhill from there.

This morning I listened with interest as an acquaintance challenged another on the emotion of guilt. The one party was saying that guilt is a bad thing. My friend retorted that guilt is not a bad thing; guilt is a good thing. It keeps us on the path of doing the right thing.

I, too, up until this morning, have always accepted that guilt is a bad thing – but only bad because of the way I was looking at it. My friend explained that guilt for what happened in the past serves no useful purpose. Let it go. It is done and over with.

All you have now is this present moment. Guilt that occurs in the present moment leads you to do the right thing…when you might be tempted to stray off into the weeds.

Once again, I was reminded of the litmus test given to us at the conference I attended last Sunday. The speaker said, “When faced with a decision, ask yourself: “Will I be disappointed in myself if I do/don’t do it?”

You will never lie to yourself. Here’s where guilt steps in to help you…if you attempt to lie to yourself. Your subconscious speaks loudly to you, employing guilt as a tool to tug at your moral consciousness.

Interesting concept, “Guilt for what happened in the past serves no useful purpose. Let it go. It is done and over with.”

It all comes back to living in the present moment, does it not?

Budda says, “The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.”

It is estimated that 85% or more of our disease processes is related to stress. Where does stress come from? From living in the past or the future, and it serves no useful purpose. Living anywhere but the now torpedoes our health, both mind and body, but oh my, does it take discipline to stay planted in the now.

As George Orwell states, “To see what is in front of one’s nose requires constant struggle.”

So it seems the first step to health and happiness is to stay in the now. But what about that stress thing? Might the second step be to correctly interpret what is happening in the now? Here is what Neale Donald Walsch has to say about it:

“On this day of your life, dear friend, I believe God wants you to know…

…that it sometimes looks like “one thing after the other,” but really, it is Blessing After Blessing.

I know, I know…you don’t experience it that way.

But that’s because you don’t see it that way.

In this business of life, ‘What you see is what you get.’

If you think you are looking at struggle, struggle is what you will experience.

If you decide that you are looking at a gift (even if you can’t see it clearly in this exact moment), a gift is what you will get. Just wait.  You’ll see. I mean that literally. You will see.

Love, Your Friend….”

What is the bottom line of this message on this pretty little day in May?

1. Live in the now.
2. Use every moment in your now doing the right thing, living life to your fullest.
3. Trust that everything that is happening in your now is a blessing.

Og Mandino writes, “I will forget the happenings of the day that is gone, whether they were good or bad, and greet the new sun with confidence that this will be the best day of my life.”

Here’s to the best day of your life.  :  )

All of the great masters counsel that we need time daily for solitude. And if we want our journey in life to be meaningful, then surely we need some free time each day to explore our inner landscapes and uncover our passions. What activities can you cut out of your life to give you more growing room?

Such were the pensive words written today by Higher Awareness.

Time? What is time, and why is there never enough of it?

“Why has time disappeared in our culture? How is it that after decades of inventions and new technologies devoted to saving time and labor, the result is that there is no time left? We are a time-poor society; we are temporally impoverished. And there is no issue, no aspect of human life, that exceeds this in importance. The destruction of time is literally the destruction of life.” ~ Jacob Needleman

And who holds the secrets to where our day flows, our love, our life? Only time, says Enya…

Who can say where the road goes,
Where the day flows? Only time…
And who can say if your love grows,
As your heart chose? Only time…

Who can say why your heart sighs,
As your love flies? Only time…
And who can say why your heart cries
when your love lies? Only time…

Who can say when the roads meet,
That love might be in your heart?
And who can say when the day sleeps,
that the night keeps all your heart?

Night keeps all your heart…..

Who can say if your love grows,
As your heart chose? Only time…
And who can say where the road goes,
Where the day flows? Only time…

Who knows? Only time.
Who knows? Only time.

Oh time, you are my friend. Come sit with me a while. Let me tell you my deepest, darkest secrets. Help me know what I am to pursue, where I am to cast my heart.

Who can say where the road goes, where the day flows? Only time. Time, let me sit with you a while. Help me to see where my love gowns, what my heart chose. Who can help me? Only time.

Yesterday I was introduced to a couple – recently married, second marriages for both of them. A conversation ensued between them. He has a huge collection of pristine original equipment from the 1950’s – holding onto a dream to do something with it once he retires. She, on the other hand, views the items as clutter and is pushing him to get rid of it.

The pain in his eyes shined so brightly – if only she could see it.

Ahh, the words of Bruce Springsteen wash through my consciousness…

“I’m working on a dream,
Though sometimes it feels so far away.
I’m working on a dream
And how it will be mine someday.”

Working on a dream – don’t let anyone steal your dream – including you.

I attended a prosperity workshop this afternoon given by Marilyn Banks, www.pathsthatcross.com. Marilyn gave us a great take-away. She said when facing a decision, ask yourself, “Will I be disappointed in myself if I do it/don’t do it?” She emphasized, “You will not lie to yourself.”

Some additional points worth noting from the conference:

• The only one to let you down is you.
• Honor yourself and do what you want to do.
• Ask yourself, “What do I want to do?”
• Have a good relationship with yourself. Treat yourself the way you want others to treat you.
• Be honest with yourself, be appreciative of yourself, honor yourself. Start with you
  and abide by it.
• Love, honor, appreciate, and take care of yourself.
• Be confident in you, in your abilities, in your being a woman, in your being a person.

What do you want to do? What makes your heart sing? What is your dream? Are you living your dream? If not, why not? What are you waiting for?

“On this day of your life, dear friend, I believe God wants you to know…

…that money is not the issue.

Having the courage to give your highest gift is the issue.

There is no security in doing something for a living when you are dying inside while doing it.

That is taking care of the body at the expense of the soul.

And a withering soul cannot help but produce a withering body.

So do not think you are “taking care of yourself” by killing your spirit to keep your body alive.

How long will you put off what you are dying to do?

Love, Your Friend….”

~ Neale Donald Walsch

Hang on to that dream…let that be what shines brightly from your eyes.

Yesterday my blog article addressed how to obtain help from your subconscious whenever you are facing a difficult situation. This morning a dear friend sent me some remarkable information taken from The Power of Positive Thinking. I thought perhaps you too might enjoy reviewing the following information:

1) How to Break the Worry Habit

2) Power to Solve Personal Problems

The Power of Positive Thinking

Norman Vincent Peale

Chapter 8

How to Break the Worry Habit

The last five minutes before going to sleep are of extraordinary importance, for in that brief period the mind is most receptive to suggestion.  It tends to absorb the last ideas that are entertained in waking consciousness.

This process of mind drainage is important in overcoming worry, for fear thoughts, unless drained off, can clog the mind and impede the flow of mental and spiritual power.  But such thoughts can be emptied from the mind and will not accumulate if they are eliminated daily.

Conceive of yourself as actually emptying your mind of all anxiety and fear.  Picture all worry thoughts as flowing out as you would let water flow from a basin by removing the stopper.  Repeat the following affirmation during this visualization:

“With God’s help, I am now emptying my mind of all anxiety, all fear, all sense of insecurity.”

Repeat this slowly five times, then add:

“I believe that my mind is now emptied of all anxiety, all fear, all sense of insecurity.”

Repeat that statement five times, meanwhile holding a mental picture of your mind as being emptied of these concepts.  Then thank God for thus freeing you from fear.  And go to sleep.

Do this midmorning and midafternoon as well as at bedtime.  Faithfully perform this process and you will soon note beneficial results.

Upon emptying the mind, practice refilling it. Fill it with thoughts of faith, hope, courage, expectancy.  Say aloud such affirmations as:  “God is now filling my mind with courage, with peace, with calm assurance.  God is now protecting me from all harm.  God is now protecting my loved ones from all harm.  God is now guiding me to right decisions.  God will see me through this situation.”

A half-dozen times each day crowd your mind with such thoughts as these until the mind is overflowing with them.  In due course these thoughts of faith will crowd out worry.  Fear is the most powerful of all thoughts, with one exception, and that one exception is faith.  Faith can always overcome fear.  Faith is the one power against which fear cannot stand.

Chapter 9

Power to Solve Personal Problems

Ask God to be your partner.