WHY?

The timeless question of why? It may be the first thing you remember asking as a child. It fuels our curiosity & drives us to find a better way. The truth is ‘why’ is one of the cornerstones of who we are as human beings, we question everything & although this can lead to new & exciting answers, it can also lead to a spiral of despair.

I understand that when you look back over the last 200 years or so you’ll know that only because of great men asking why have we had all the inventions that we’ve become accustom to. I know that through our curiosity we can grow to a higher level of understanding but I’ve learned first hand of the downside of an active mind. A mind that questions everything & is never truly satisfied with the answer. A mind that lacks contentment & peace, that knows not the joy of the beauty around it.

Yes, that was my mind for many years. I did find beauty from time to time but my mind was always onto the next best thing. I could figure out complex puzzles while watching a movie or walking the dogs. This wasn’t all bad but on a spiritual level I never felt satisfied. My EGO was going wild because there seemed to be nothing I couldn’t do, except find true joy.

The quieting of my mind took me most of my life, thus far, to figure out. I learned painfully well that by ‘over-thinking’ everything in our lives we miss out on the most important thing & that thing is….how we feel. I learned to understand that by allowing myself to feel that deep feeling that comes from my heart, I could discover joy.

Now, I’m not going to sit here & tell you not to think, that’s not the point of this blog. The point is to understand the difference between acting out of pure thought & understanding how you feel in any given situation. There’s always times when you need to look at & analyze things, as there are times when you act on pure emotions without regard to thought. We don’t live in a vacuum where one thing is better then another, we instead live our lives everyday doing the best we can & because of this we look for ways to bring more joy into our lives, to me that way is by understanding our true feelings.

We can grow only so far by reading & thinking & staying on an intellectual level. The longer we stay there the harder it is to move away from it & before you know it you’ll talk yourself out of some the best things in the world. Our hearts won’t lead us stray very often if we truly listen to them. In fact, as we begin to understand how we feel about the things in our lives, we begin to understand ourselves better. It is through this understanding that God/universe acts to give us more of what makes us happy. Each of us was born a pure spirit that knew nothing but joy, we’ve learned to be cynical, we’ve learned to hate & fear. By opening our hearts we begin to discover the joy we knew as a child, the joy that knew no bounds, the joy makes a moment last a lifetime.

Believe in yourself; know that whatever challenges you are facing, big or small, can be overcome by growing your spirit & understanding who you are. Allow yourself to trust in your heart, it will open the world to you. Know that you will make through no matter how difficult it gets. I believe in you & in your spirit, you are special & I am blessed to know you.

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the day: “Trust in your heart & everything is possible.”

Understanding your dark side

Yes we all have one even if we don’t want to admit it. In fact trying to bury it away is one of the biggest problems we can face. The trick, I’ve found, with the dark side is to acknowledge it & know when it’s needed. Yes, there truly are times that we need to allow ourselves to slip into the dark side.

What do I mean by the dark side? To me it’s the part of myself that's selfish, cranky, rude & sometimes wishes ill will to ours. We all have those moments in our life when we snap at someone or do something truly for our own benefit even if it means hurting someone else. I’m sure if we explored deeper we would find even nastier parts of ourselves & exploring is the key. If we can’t understand ourselves how can we expect anyone else to understand where we’re coming from or what motivates us. It truly is impossible! What often happens next is a feeling of frustration because we feel misunderstood & alone.

In the fast paced world we live in today everybody is looking for the quick fix, the miracle cure & many of us are unwilling to take the time needed to discover who we truly are. A big reason for this is we’re afraid of what we’ll find. So how many skeletons have you buried inside of yourself? How much hurt & pain have you tucked away for fear of experiencing it? We all do it but does that make it right? I think not!!!

There are two things you need to remember when you begin the exploration of yourself:

1) Anything you discover about yourself can be changed. This is a proven fact by many studies throughout the last decade or so. Granted it’s not always easy to change things that you’ve been doing for a longtime but it can be done with work & repetition.

2) Only by dealing with the emotions & feelings that we have deep inside can we move beyond them to a better a life. That fear or pain that you’ve buried will always come back to haunt you at the most inopportune times until you learned to move beyond it..

I’m not going to kid you sometimes it’s a difficult process to really look into yourself. I know for me it’s was very hard process but I discovered so much about myself that it was very worthwhile. I shed many a tear looking at the pain I buried inside & realized the pain that I caused others because of my selfish actions at different times in my life. I am a better person because I understand now that if I get angry or feel hurt or act in a selfish way, where that feeling comes from & how to move beyond that feeling to a better place.

So, the question you’re probably asking yourself is, how? The answer to that is a difficult one. We all process things differently because of the life experiences we have so there’s no set pattern (although you could read books that tell you an easy way). I believe that it all begins with taking time for yourself. Go into a room alone turn everything off & allow your mind to run with whatever it wants to. I always brought a pad a paper in to jot down the thoughts I had & the feelings associated with those thoughts.; Then backtrack through your life till you get to the earliest thing you remember. Throughout this journey pay attention to the feelings that emerge as you recount the events of your life. Give yourself praise for getting through any & all the difficult times you’ve had, for by making it through you proven you can get through anything that life throws your way.

Understand when you acted selfishly or were angry or cruel to someone. Try to think about why you acted that way & if now you could think about a better way to handle the situation. Forgive yourself for the mistakes you made & for the times you didn’t act as your best self would. Understand that the past can’t be changed but that you can be the person you want to be in every situation if you understand why you acted the way you did.

Everything is possible in life & the journey we are on together or separately should always be to act as the best person we can be. We all make mistakes, we are only human but by learning from those mistakes & growing into the person we know we can be, we can change the world one step at a time.

Always remember that no matter how dark the storm becomes nothing lasts forever & you will endure because you have before. Sometimes through the darkest parts of our lives we gain the most knowledge, I wish it wasn’t so but for many of us it is. Relish the dark by discovering the joy even in the worst….it’s always there.

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the day: “Only by understanding the dark side of ourselves can we become who we truly want to be!”

The dawning of spring

The sun rises quietly over the southern sky & a new day has begun. There is still a slight frost on the grass,the air has a bit of a nip but it is quickly warmed as the sun continues to rise. The grass begins to show signs of green & the trees start to bud & bloom. The early signs of spring have come to the Midwest & the long cold winter is slowly loosing it's grip.



This winter to me was a very difficult one. We had much more snow then normal & overall it was much colder then the past 11 winters I've spent in Indiana. This past week we've truly gotten a glimpse of spring. The temperature has reached as high as 60 degrees & I feel reborn again.

After living most of my life in the Midwest I have come to enjoy the spring because of all the possibilities it brings. I realize that we may have another snowstorm or two before spring actually stays but the beauty of the world reborn enlivens me & lifts my heart to new wonderful heights.

We all talk about "spring cleaning" as a way to clear out the old & begin anew. I challenge you to go beyond cleaning out the old "stuff" in your life. Why not take this time to clean out all the old patterns that no longer work in your life today. We all hang on to what we've always done because it's safe & comfortable. Challenge yourself to let these old ways go.

Take the time to examine everything in your life. Discard the stuff that doesn't work or that holds you back. Just as the sun returns to the northern hemisphere & nature begins it's own rebirth, you can be reborn too. You can become everything you've ever wanted to be. All it takes is letting go of the "old" ways & opening your heart to rediscover the love you have inside.

At times the winter feels like it will never end & when it comes to our lives until we shine the light of love outward into the world we can never dispel the darkness that we have inside. You are a unique & beautiful person. The world is a better place because you are here. Be reborn as nature is reborn & become what you are meant to be.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Look at the spring as a time to be reborn to the life you've always wanted."

Power

The truth is power can be good or bad but today I'm not talking about power to control or even the power to lead. Today I want to discuss the power each of us have inside. Do you realize how powerful you truly are? You have the ability to change everything in your life with just your thoughts & the pure connection to your soul.

To me the soul is our connection to everything. It is the truest & most natural connection that we have. The unfortunate thing is we lose this connection as we grow because we discover our EGO. I've written many times about the EGO so let's just say that no matter what we do, the EGO will never been satisfied. It may be satisfied for the moment but never very long at all. It always wants more & always wants the next best thing. It takes us over so much that many of us spend our entire life just trying to make it back to our true connection with God/universe, our soul.

The journey of life is to rediscover that true connection with our soul. Some of us can, at times, reach that connection & when we do miraculous things happen. Everything in our life works in perfect harmony & just flows when we are truly connected to our divine source, the soul.

We have the power to not only change ourselves but to change the world around us when we have this true connection. Everyone today is searching for the quick & easy answer to make their life better. The answer is not something we seek outside ourselves. Don't look for what you think will make your life better. Instead look inside. Believe in you. Find the quiet within, discover the true connection with God/universe that is your soul. Sit quietly reflect on your life. let go of the pain of the past. Find the peace & love you have inside. Allow that love to fill you up & overflow to the rest of the world. Discover the joy of life in perfect harmony. Take the time to discover your true power within.

Till Monday, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Bill

Quote of the day:"Discover the power you have within yourself. Connect to your soul & rediscover the harmony we all can live in."

Frustration

Yes I get frustrated just like you do. Thankfully because of the work I've done to lead a more positive/joyful life the frustration doesn't usually last as long as it use to or as long as it does for many other people.

I have found that the best place to be when your frustrated is patient. It is in patience that the answers to your frustration will be revealed. Sometimes it's hard to be patient & for me right now it's becoming more difficult. For those you who don't know; I've been laid-off since June 5th 2009. The past 11 years I have done taxes & worked for one of the Big 4 accounting firms for 9 of those 11 years. I left 2 years ago, from the Big 4, for an opportunity that I believed was going to be a great situation & it didn't work out that way. Besides taxes/accounting I have 8 years of experience in Banking including running an $80 million loan department. In-between these to different careers I was a professional actor. I ran a theatre & was a box office manager at a theatre. So I have a good background in non-profits as well.

Ok that's enough about me. The fact is because I have worked hard to change my life & truly live the things I write about, I rarely get frustrated for long. The key I have found when dealing with negative feelings is that you need to shift your way of thinking. If you allow these emotions to take hold of you, you will spiral into a very bad place quickly. You need to acknowledge how you're feeling but then you need to change the way you look at the situation. It is in this shift of focus that you will discover the answers to the situation you're frustrated about. As I mentioned earlier, patient is also very important. God/universe can do & will do amazing things to help us through whatever we have to deal in our life, if we truly believe it's possible. But sometimes God/universe needs time to create the perfect solution to our situation. We can push to make things happen & sometimes this will work but usually this is a short term gain because it's our EGO that wants the quick solution & so the gain becomes hollow & not what we truly want in the long run.

Believe in miracles & find the patience to wait for them. This along with a shift in focus will lead you through any situation that causes you frustration.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "When frustration takes hold, change your focus be patient & miracles can happen"




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