Have you heard this question before... "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to here it, does it make a sound?"
Well, how about this one... "If you voluntarily do kind, helpful acts for someone and other people aren't around to see them, did the acts happen?"
I'm just curious as I've been struggling with this conundrum for a few days now. I have some people in my life who have become quite skilled at pointing out my many mistakes and failings, yet strain to acknowledge that I have also done many thoughtful and kind things for the people I care about and even some I didn't know.
Should it even matter whether anyone recognizes the ways in which I help others, save the recipients of such help. Can I simply be content in receiving a smile or "Thank you" from the recipient of my acts of kindness? And even if my actions are never acknowledged by anyone or they seem unappreciated, can I still find joy in knowing that in some way I may have helped to make another person's life a little better or easier, or that I offered a bit of hope, comfort, or encouragement to someone who needed it?
Hmmmm....
"and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly." Matthew 6:4
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Handling Negativity
Dealing with negativity, whether your own or others, can feel life draining. It will suck the energy right out of you if you let it by holding onto it.
Remaining stuck in negative moods such as anger, frustration, resentment, depression, etc. is not only unproductive—it inhibits your ability to think and act clearly—it can also be unhealthy. There are numerous studies that show stress and unreleased negative emotions can contribute to long-term health problems from obesity to cardiovascular disease.
The best thing you can do for yourself and those close to you is to find constructive ways to quickly clear negativity/negative emotions from your mind and body.
To help set you on that path, I thought I would share this video on dealing with negativity published on YouTube by The Elephant Journal. Although the tips offered are from a practicing Buddhist, anyone can use them and they are quite simple. I used all four tips to help me quickly release the negative emotions I was feeling after dealing with a family member.
One other tip that has worked for me is to call up a friend or family member who you know will listen without judgment and openly share what you're feeling. My mother used to call this "telling out on the devil." After you're done sharing, just let it all go—forgive yourself, forgive the other person (if someone else is involved)—and go do something positive like write an inspiring blog article.
Be blessed.
Remaining stuck in negative moods such as anger, frustration, resentment, depression, etc. is not only unproductive—it inhibits your ability to think and act clearly—it can also be unhealthy. There are numerous studies that show stress and unreleased negative emotions can contribute to long-term health problems from obesity to cardiovascular disease.
The best thing you can do for yourself and those close to you is to find constructive ways to quickly clear negativity/negative emotions from your mind and body.
To help set you on that path, I thought I would share this video on dealing with negativity published on YouTube by The Elephant Journal. Although the tips offered are from a practicing Buddhist, anyone can use them and they are quite simple. I used all four tips to help me quickly release the negative emotions I was feeling after dealing with a family member.
One other tip that has worked for me is to call up a friend or family member who you know will listen without judgment and openly share what you're feeling. My mother used to call this "telling out on the devil." After you're done sharing, just let it all go—forgive yourself, forgive the other person (if someone else is involved)—and go do something positive like write an inspiring blog article.
Be blessed.
Monday, December 21, 2015
Releasing Old Thoughts of Pain and Finding a Song of Hope
I decided to spend today doing a bit of advanced prep for 2016. After spending several weeks, examining my life and my current state of affairs, I have decided I'm in need of a makeover in body, mind and spirit, beginning with mind because I believe that all things begin in the mind (our thoughts).
I've long held the beliefs based on Biblical teachings that words—both spoken and written—have creative power. To paraphrase Jesus, you shall have what you say. Like most people, I presume, I haven't always chosen my words judiciously. I especially recall a time in life, during my late teens to mid-20s, when I let the negative thoughts and emotions flow freely not only from my mouth where they could disappear into the wind, but also preserved them on paper. I spent a lot of time chronicling my pain, frustration, hurt, etc., in prose and poetry, not realizing that in so doing, I was opening myself up to more pain, frustration and hurt. (What you focus on, grows.)
The beauty and danger in words is there ability to reach far into the future, fulfilling themselves. Spoken to self or others, they act upon our subconscious, which will do it's damnedest to direct our actions so the words become true since our minds cannot handle major disconnects between what we think and what we experience. This phenomenon of our words seeming to create our future is what Carl Jung called a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I don't know about you, but I've never really been a fan much of pain, hurt, and frustration. So, energized by my recent reading of works by meta-physicists and inspired teachers like Neville Goddard and Joseph Murphy and even Joel Osteen to embark on a lovelier path, I've decided to take more care with my words going forward—to complain less and speak only that which I want to have in my life.
To that same end, I decided to free myself from the negative thoughts, ideas, and feelings of my past by going through my old writings and discarding anything that wasn't inspiring or uplifting. I pulled out my old notebooks and folders filled with my dark "life's a bitch" thoughts and began tearing up the pages, which I later plan to burn as a sign that I refuse to be bound by negative words spoken in my past. (Actually, I refuse to be bound by my past, period.) Almost immediately, I began to feel lighter, more at peace, stronger—FREE!
And surprisingly, I found a few gems among those dark works—words of hope, faith, love, and inspiration. I've included one below that was written during my senior year of high school, apparently for a class project (I received a B+ for it!). While I certainly don't expect anyone, except my mom, to think that my words rise to the level of Shakespeare, Keats, Paul Lawrence Dunbar or Maya Angelou, I do hope you'll enjoy a "song" from my 17-year old self.
A Song of Innocence—My Gift to You
Friends and family gather 'round, I have a song to sing.
Sit right here, my loved ones dear, good news and cheer I bring.
Let all the children sit up front and in their mothers' care.
And you with heavy, hate-filled hearts, come closer if you dare.
My song I sing for everyone. I want the world to listen.
And for those who cannot hear, my motion will express it.
I'll say it once and not again, so give your full attention.
To all of you—please let me speak!—I'd really like to mention:
This life comes once and it can pass before hardly your eyes will see it.
But if you do what's in your heart, you need not fear you'll miss it.
__________________
And in the spirit of Christmas...
Life is wonderful gift—the best one you'll ever get. Live every day with passion. Live every day on purpose.
I've long held the beliefs based on Biblical teachings that words—both spoken and written—have creative power. To paraphrase Jesus, you shall have what you say. Like most people, I presume, I haven't always chosen my words judiciously. I especially recall a time in life, during my late teens to mid-20s, when I let the negative thoughts and emotions flow freely not only from my mouth where they could disappear into the wind, but also preserved them on paper. I spent a lot of time chronicling my pain, frustration, hurt, etc., in prose and poetry, not realizing that in so doing, I was opening myself up to more pain, frustration and hurt. (What you focus on, grows.)
The beauty and danger in words is there ability to reach far into the future, fulfilling themselves. Spoken to self or others, they act upon our subconscious, which will do it's damnedest to direct our actions so the words become true since our minds cannot handle major disconnects between what we think and what we experience. This phenomenon of our words seeming to create our future is what Carl Jung called a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I don't know about you, but I've never really been a fan much of pain, hurt, and frustration. So, energized by my recent reading of works by meta-physicists and inspired teachers like Neville Goddard and Joseph Murphy and even Joel Osteen to embark on a lovelier path, I've decided to take more care with my words going forward—to complain less and speak only that which I want to have in my life.
To that same end, I decided to free myself from the negative thoughts, ideas, and feelings of my past by going through my old writings and discarding anything that wasn't inspiring or uplifting. I pulled out my old notebooks and folders filled with my dark "life's a bitch" thoughts and began tearing up the pages, which I later plan to burn as a sign that I refuse to be bound by negative words spoken in my past. (Actually, I refuse to be bound by my past, period.) Almost immediately, I began to feel lighter, more at peace, stronger—FREE!
And surprisingly, I found a few gems among those dark works—words of hope, faith, love, and inspiration. I've included one below that was written during my senior year of high school, apparently for a class project (I received a B+ for it!). While I certainly don't expect anyone, except my mom, to think that my words rise to the level of Shakespeare, Keats, Paul Lawrence Dunbar or Maya Angelou, I do hope you'll enjoy a "song" from my 17-year old self.
A Song of Innocence—My Gift to You
Friends and family gather 'round, I have a song to sing.
Sit right here, my loved ones dear, good news and cheer I bring.
Let all the children sit up front and in their mothers' care.
And you with heavy, hate-filled hearts, come closer if you dare.
My song I sing for everyone. I want the world to listen.
And for those who cannot hear, my motion will express it.
I'll say it once and not again, so give your full attention.
To all of you—please let me speak!—I'd really like to mention:
This life comes once and it can pass before hardly your eyes will see it.
But if you do what's in your heart, you need not fear you'll miss it.
__________________
And in the spirit of Christmas...
Life is wonderful gift—the best one you'll ever get. Live every day with passion. Live every day on purpose.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
I Am Infinite
"All that you behold, though it appears without, it is within, in your imagination of which this world of mortality is but a shadow.” (William Blake).
I am an infinite being. I am a part of God, the Source of All That Is, and so possess all the characteristics of Source. There are no limits to what is possible for me except those which I impose upon myself. My thoughts matter, so I choose them wisely. My words have creative power, so I speak them judiciously. I am solely responsible for my life and my experiences and have power at any moment in time to change them according to my will. I am not my body. I am not ancestry. I am not race or skin color. I am not gender. I am not economic status. I am not present circumstances.
I AM an infinite being. And, so are you.
I am an infinite being. I am a part of God, the Source of All That Is, and so possess all the characteristics of Source. There are no limits to what is possible for me except those which I impose upon myself. My thoughts matter, so I choose them wisely. My words have creative power, so I speak them judiciously. I am solely responsible for my life and my experiences and have power at any moment in time to change them according to my will. I am not my body. I am not ancestry. I am not race or skin color. I am not gender. I am not economic status. I am not present circumstances.
I AM an infinite being. And, so are you.
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