“Do not give your precious energy to the dying past.”

~ Predictions for 2010 from the Sedona Group,  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3zJm98UXzQ

Shattered dreams, broken relationships, disappointments, failures, financial setbacks…what litter is piled high in your backyard?

Today’s message from Oprah.com: “There is a fine balance between honoring the past and losing yourself in it. For example, you can acknowledge and learn from mistakes you made, and then move on and refocus on the now. It is called forgiving yourself. Or you can carry a burden of guilt (self-identification with mistakes) for many years.

Be vigilant, so that you don’t allow a burden of negative past to accumulate in your mind, in the form of guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, anger, and so on. Forgiveness happens naturally as soon as you realize that the past cannot prevail against the power of Presence.

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love shares the following lighthearted yet sound advice:

“Screw up (often, and boldly), learn from your mistakes, repeat.”

If you are suffering from pain of the past, how can you shake yourself free?

Greg Mortenson, coauthor of Three Cups of Tea and author of Stones into Schools and founder of Pennies for Peace, establishing more than 131 schools in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan suggests:

“It’s sad to see people spending thousands trying to find themselves. You can find great joy by serving others, and you don’t have to devote your whole life to it. Practice doing one good deed a day. Help an old lady, a neighbor, a new kid in school—make it a habit. After a while, you’ll be doing amazing things.”

Eckhart Tolle reminds us, “Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have.”

Oprah.com advises: “Where to find that goodness when recession hits, when you lose your job, your home, when things seem to fall apart around you? In all the things that we tend to overlook: feeling the gentle breeze on your skin, the sunlight filtering through the clouds, the sound of the rain, the wagging tail of a dog, the shiny apple you are about to bite into. It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up.”

The Sedona Group directs us to “Dwell on your dreams.”

Today’s message from www.tut.com says, “Wake up, Rosie! Remember what excites you. Think of these things, those friends, and the adventures that can be yours. Focus. Care. Fantasize. Imagine. It’s all so near. Speak as if you’re ready. Paste new pictures in your scrapbook, on your vision board, and around your home and office. Physically prepare for the changes that you wish to experience in your life. You’ve done this before. You know it works. You’re due for an encore. It’s time to amaze. That’s why you’re there.

And it’s why I’m here,
The Universe

Wake up, Rosie! Remember! Do what you know to do! It’s all so near.”

Lastly, Neale Donald Walsch says it this way: “On this day of your life, dear friend, I believe God wants you to know…

..that getting down on yourself is not the answer.

Why would you do to you what God would never do to you?

The few things you do not “get right” (whatever that is) cannot compare

to the things at which you excel. Do you know that?

You are kind, you are caring, you are generous, you are sensitive,

you are compassionate, you are forgiving, you are more accepting than you know,

and more loving than you will give yourself credit for.

Now…what else is there?

Try to understand this: You are doing just fine.

Better than ‘just fine.’

You are excelling.

You are magnificent, you are wonderful!

And God loves you to pieces!

Love, Your Friend….”

Heck, how about if only for today…

“Do not give your precious energy to the dying past.”

“Dwell on Your Dreams.”

Last night I laid out my plans for today. By golly, I was determined that it would be a productive day. I simply have lots to get accomplished, and today was going to be it.

The plan: get up at 5:10 am, go to 5:30 Jazzercise, eat a healthy breakfast, and then get going!

Why then do these voices in my head talk to me about my friend’s assessment of me, “You are always in such a frenzy. You don’t allow. You don’t allow things to happen.”

And why do these voices in my head remind me of last week’s message from www.tut.com?

“Rosie, I think you’re amazing. I think your approach to life is dead-on. And I can’t think of anything you’ve ever done that I wouldn’t have done had I been in your shoes.

Hey, it’s my life too.

Tallyho,
The Universe

Yeah, Rosie, nothing you’ve ever done….”

Why is it that when I looked at the tut.com message for this morning, I get the following message?

“Of all the things that matter, Rosie, that really and truly matter, working more efficiently and getting more done is not among them.

Chill,
The Universe

And, quite accidentally, Rosie, such an appreciation leads to greater efficiency and more productivity. Not that that really matters.”

Pushing, pushing, pushing to get things accomplished. Maybe that’s not the answer? And what are you pushing? Are you doing what you truly love? Or are you focused on making a living, paying the bills?

Is fear pushing you forward, driving you toward more efficiency? Are you loving the living you are creating? Do you love what you are working on, working on so efficiently, getting more done? If not, what would it look like to do what you love?

Is it time to pause the frenzy train long enough to catch a glimpse of what allowing might bring?

Check out the wisdom in today’s message from tut.com: “You don’t take ‘baby steps’ for the distance they cover, Rosie, but to put yourself within reach of life’s magic.

Just like you don’t hoist your sails to move the boat, but to put yourself within reach of the wind.

Hoist, baby, hoist, baby, 1, 2, 3, 4 -
    The Universe”

[Side note: if you love this guy as much as I do, Mike Dooley, who brings these invigorating messages to us every day, help him out by purchasing a copy of his new release of the long awaited text edition of Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Living Your Dreams! Go to www.tut.com to read all about it… Amazon extends 34% off and B&N 35% off today! I don’t get anything for promoting his work. I just love starting each morning with his pearls of wisdom, that’s all.]

Back to the baby steps…it is those baby steps that put us in reach of life’s magic. For example, reflect on your day yesterday. What baby steps did you take at work, in your home, with your kids, with your health? Maybe you took them and didn’t really think about them?

I’ll toss out a few examples to consider. Want to do something about improving your health? Maybe just start with a baby step.

Perhaps the first step is purchasing a bath scales. I know, gross. That will lead to the next baby step that takes tremendous courage: stepping on it. I promise you, once you do, you will be on your way. Actually, perhaps the first baby step is to decide. Decide to purchase that scales. Decide that today is the day to take that baby step towards the magic of your good health.

Speaking of scales, I am having fun with the one I just purchased. For $39 at WalMart, you can purchase a “Healthometer Body Fat & Hydration Monitoring Scale.” This scales will give you not only your weight, but also your % body fat, % body water, % bone mass, and your BMI (Body Mass Index). A brochure is included that explains the normal ranges for males and females.

Take another baby step…post a calendar by your scales and start recording your numbers. The numbers will be an incentive to keep you on your path. Among other things, this simple step somehow stimulates the RAS in your brain – the reticular activating system – that causes your subconscious mind to keep pushing towards your goal.   

Another baby step is to put Dr. Joel Fuhrman on in your car, your automobile university, as you travel to and from work. Thinking I have no time right now to read, I recently purchased his Eat for Health and Eat to Live audiobooks. Well, forget that, I ordered the books yesterday, so intrigued was I over the excellent information I am learning on his CDs.

Dr. Fuhrman’s CDs are full of little baby steps. For example, he teaches the importance of adding foods rich in micronutrients to your diet, such as found in deeply green leafy vegetables. Taking that one little point, here’s a funny little baby step.

Yesterday Dr. Gabhart and I met at my house to work on our book. When it got to be lunch time, we decided to have some tuna and some mouth watering cherry tomatoes, fresh from the garden. I prepared my tuna with nothing in it. Meanwhile, Dr. G. is rifling through my spice drawer.

“Here, put these Marjoram Leaves and Basil and dried Tomato & Garlic mix in that tuna. What do you think all this is? It’s your green vegetables. This is good for you! Where’s your onions? And put a little olive oil in there. You can’t eat that tuna plain!”

Oh my goodness, when she got finished with that tuna, I thought I was at Thanksgiving dinner – and all because of the addition of a few herbs – no egg or mayonnaise – just the healthy micronutrients that I heard Dr. Fuhrman talk about earlier that morning.

Little baby steps… Mike Dooley, you are right! Thank you for helping us see we can put ourselves within reach of the wind!

What baby steps can you take today to put you within reach of life’s magic?