Rebounding

In honor of the NCAA tournament that began this past week. I thought we'd discuss rebounding. Do you rebound from situations? Can you bounce back & go back up?

The truth about the word rebounding is there are good & bad meanings in the word. Like so many things in nature, we need the balance to understand the contrast. To begin we'll discuss the positive side of rebounding.

Often in life things don't go the way we planned them. Sometimes we're knocked down by others or by the circumstances of our life. It takes true resilience to pick yourself up & continue on when things don't go the way we want them to. As with rebounding in a basketball game, it takes strength, preparation & a strong base to be able to snag that rebound. In life we need to possess the ability to move beyond adversity. We need to have the strength to pick ourselves up & continue our journey forward. This strength comes from our strong base which is our connection to God/universe & therefore our connection to everything. Trust in this connection & no matter what happens you'll find the strength to continue on.

Life isn't always easy. The truth is even when we practice living in joy we can encounter difficulties in our life. These difficulties are often things we need to learn in our life to grow & move forward but it's extremely difficult to move past these times when we're in the middle of them. Trust in God/universe. Trust in your practice & trust in yourself!! You can do anything if you believe in it!

Don't bury the pain & hurt accept it, learn from it & move beyond it. I know sometimes this is easier said than done but I know you can do it!!

Now, the negative side of rebounding is often finding a replacement for what you've lost in your life. This is especially true in relationships. We have a break-up or we lose someone that we loved & cared about, instead of reflecting on this loss & learning from it. We move onto another relationship to replace the relationship we just lost. This can be a cycle that's very difficult to move beyond & the truth is that we're hiding from ourselves. We don't want to take the time to deal with the loss because we're afraid of what we might find in ourselves that caused this to happen.

We may simply be afraid of being by ourselves period. I can relate to this because for many years when I was younger I didn't like to be by myself. I always wanted others around to talk to, to play with or to have fun with. The problem with this thinking is that we are always looking to someone else to bring us joy! The truth, as we've discussed before, is that the joy you are looking for has to come from within not from without. No matter how much you love someone else in your life they can't bring you happiness & joy. They can only contribute to the joy & happiness you already have. Discovering yourself & the joy & love you have inside is the pathway to a more joyful life. Believe in yourself move beyond the feeling of lack & you can do anything you want in your life.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"The ability to rebound from difficulties in your life is very important. Learn from the obstacles in your life, grow beyond the troubles & discover the joy in every moment!"

Storms

I read a post by my friend Marty Duane the other day about his first experience camping. In the story he described how a big rain storm came & flooded the tent. This story reminded me that we all face storms in our lives. These storms could be anything and our natural tendency when we face a storm in our life is to hunker down & hide. This is especially true when things just aren't going our way. We tend to get caught up in the negative energy around us & become more & more negative ourselves.

Negative energy that is surrounding us by situations beyond our control or negative people that for the time being are in our life are difficult to deal with. It takes a lot of practice to move beyond the negative in our life. One of the things I always remember when facing a storm in my life is a very simple phrase..."This too shall pass". No matter how bad the storm is in our life, no storm lasts forever.

When we're caught in the middle of a storm it's difficult to remember that this storm will end. We feel in the moment that in fact it will never end & we lose all hope for a better tomorrow. Sometimes, as with nature, storms are needed to help us grow. The lessons we learn from the storms in life may not always be easy but we will move beyond them to a better tomorrow.

Everyday is a precious gift & if we begin each day anew today could be the start of the life you always wanted. Today could be the end of the storm you're facing in your life right now. Today can be anything you want it to be! It's all up to you, you have the power to make anything happen in your life. Believe in yourself & remember no matter how difficult it is right now....this too shall pass.

Have a wonderful weekend, see you Monday.

Bill

Quote of the day:"Today you have the opportunity to move beyond the storms you're facing in your life. Look at each day as a new beginning & discover the joy in each moment."

Peace

Peace, something we all strive for; "To bring more peace to the world". Is peace possible? Can little old me actually make a difference in the world? The answer to these questions are a resounding YES!!! The world can discover true peace once we all learn to find love. I've written before that love isn't something you should seek out. Love is something that begins from within. Each of us can discover the love we have inside & by believing in this love & letting it flow out of us we will have love in our life.

The same principle is true with peace. Once we discover love & we realize that every person has love inside them. We can begin to open our heart to others & act from a place of love first. By letting go of the need to judge, acting from a place of love first & accepting the differences we all have, peace can grow from within us outward to the rest of the world.

Believe in the power you have individually. Anything you want to do, you can do & peace is no different. Stop accepting the fact that there will always be violence & unrest in the world & start believing in the love with all have within us.

The biggest stumbling blocks we have to a world of peace are two fold. First, as I just mentioned, it's an acceptance that there will always be unrest. Remember thoughts become things!! So by accepting that there will always be unrest....there will always be unrest. Change your thoughts to believe that peace is possible & that the world can let go of differences & move to a time of peace.

The second stumbling block to peace is the EGO. The EGO's need for more is the driving force behind the violence in the world today. Take a look at your own life & understand that when you act out it's your EGO that's being hurt & making you react. By pausing & letting go of the immediate thought we can move beyond the EGO & into a place of love. We all have gotten hurt in life by others, but by letting go of the EGO & focusing on the love you have inside we can move beyond the EGO & begin to see the love that others have in them.

Start creating the world you want to see today. Let go of the old & believe in a world of peace & love. It can happen now!! Be the spark to ignite the change.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Peace in the world is possible through each of us believing in ourselves & creating the world we want to see."

Become apart of the change...take the vow of peace & non-violence & change the world.

I take the vow is a website to start the change...join today.

Dreams

It begins with the closing of my eyes. I slowly drift between reality & another world. Sometimes I pause at this in-between place where I can still hear the sounds of reality but the beauty that's waiting for me continues to call me deeper. Slowly, ever so slowly I drift off to my new reality the place of my dreams. Often my dreams start with a walk through a garden. I smell the beauty of nature as I continue my decent into the reality of my dreams.

Dreams are an amazing thing. Something we all do. In fact if we didn't dream we'd actually go insane. There's a lot of research that's been done on the meaning of our dreams & I've read several books on their interpretation. Dreams, for me, are one of our easiest connections to our true self if we can move beyond the noise of the day.

The natural process of dreaming is to digest the day & make sense of it. The mind uses this process to quiet our fears or to make them bigger. We feel our raw emotions when we dream & it's through that connection that we can find our true self. Dreams can be self-directed to some extent but in my experience this direction only lasts a short period of time. Once you've fallen into a deep sleep it's very difficult to direct your dreams because your conscious mind let's go & allows your sub-conscious mind to take over. The wonderful thing about the sub-conscious mind is that it is much more preceptive than the conscious mind & therefore through dreams we can discover the signs we are looking for in our life that were previously overlooked.

The biggest challenge many people have with their dreams is actually remembering them. The average person only remembers a small percentage of their dreams each morning & the further they move away from waking up the less of those dreams they actually remember. The best remedy for remembering your dreams is to leave a notebook on your nightstand so that you can write down your dreams as soon as you wake up.

The interpretation of specific dreams is beyond what I can write here, if you're truly interested I would suggest picking up several of the dream interpretation books. One of my favorites is: "The Dream Encyclopedia" by James R. Lewis. I would caution you in that some of the explanations for dreams vary from book to book so take what they say with a grain of salt. What's important to me is to understand the depth of your perception of events that occur in your life. You have a deep meaningful connection with everything around you & through your dreams you can begin to understand that connection.

Trust in your dreams for they have signs & meanings that need to be explored. Begin to keep track of each of your dreams & you'll discover the steps you need to follow to bring more joy into your life.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Dreams have deep meanings beyond our conscious mind that will uncover the path to true joy & the true connection to our self."

Play

Do you remember how to play? Are you willing to take time to play? One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is to allow ourselves time to play. In the busy world we live in many of us forget how to play. We all take life so seriously & we all work much to hard. Don't get me wrong, a good work ethic is very important but remembering how to have fun & play is just as important & too often overlooked.

Having a child's view of the world is one of the best ways to find joy in your life & live in the present moment. Watch children at play, they don't worry about what's next they just enjoy what they're doing in the present moment. They can become so engrossed in what their doing that time appears to stand still. Hours can pass & to them it feels like moments. I'm sure we've all had moments in our life when we enjoyed what we were doing so much that time wasn't important or seemed to pass with ease. This is the feeling we all need to strive for. To be so caught up in the current moment that nothing else matters.

By remembering how to play we can rediscover this true connection with our spirit, our joy. Stop taking life so seriously. Learn to let go & have fun. Remember what it was like to be a child & to play!! Look at the world as a child. See everything in your life like it's the first time again. Open your mind to the beauty around you & play!.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Rediscover the joy of playing. See the world with the eyes of a child & allow each moment to be the first time!"

Letting Go!

In the past we've touched on how trying to take control of everything in your life can lead to many problems. This need to control everyone & everything can never be accomplished. We often delude ourselves into believing that we can control everything in our life but in fact we can't. The only things we can control are ourself & our reaction to others, everything else is out of our control. We may be able to influence others because of our relationship with them (i.e. Boss, spouse, parent)but we can't control them. In fact the more we try to control the people in our life the more they will rebel against us.

So how do we begin to let go? The process of letting go begins with the realization that we can't control everything in our lives. The next step is to begin to trust the people in your life. Realize that every person that enters your life is trying to do the best they can. This "best" may not equal your expectations of what's "best" in a given situation, but the truth is most people try to do their best in everything they do. The understanding of this fact can open your mind & allow you to let go in any situation.

The next step to truly letting go is to quiet your mind. This step has always been an issue for me. I have always had an overactive mind & to quiet it has taken a lot of practice. I have discovered the best way to quiet my mind is to focus on small or beautiful things in my life. I can focus on a flower & see the beauty in it. By changing my focus to this small flower my mind lets go of everything else. In contrast to the small I can look at the great expanse of the sky & again find beauty. This shift in focus has lead me to a more relaxed life. Through this process I am able to quiet the noise in my head & this leads to letting go of the stress of everyday.

The final step in the process of letting go is to take time to reconnect with your true self. It is the connection to your soul (true self) that will lead you beyond the noise of the world & into a place of self realization. The time you take for this connection isn't as important as actually doing it. There have been times in my life that I could only take a few minutes out of a busy day to reconnect to my soul but by taking this time I discovered a calming that helped me through the rest of the day. I've written previously on the process to achieving this connection but here's a quick summary:

Close your eyes.
Breathe deeply in through your nose & out of your mouth.
Focus on slowing your breathing down.
Shift your focus to your heartbeat.
Listen to your heartbeat.
Move beyond the sound of your heart & listen to the quiet voice deep inside.
Feel the relaxation of your entire body.
Continue to focus on the voice even if you can't understand it.
Spend as long as you can listening.
Open your eyes & reconnect with the world.

By letting go we find a calming of everything in our life. This calming leads to moving through the world with an ease & without stress. Trust in the process of letting go & discover a more fulfilling life!

Till Monday, enjoy your weekend.

Bill

Quote of the day:"By letting go & allowing the world to happen around you. You will discover an ease of moving through life that can't be matched. Let go today & discover true joy!!"

Signposts

Are you looking for signposts in your life? Do you wish life choices were as easy as looking at a signpost? Are you confused because you see too many signs & don't know which one to choose?

Each one of us is born with a true purpose in our soul. The journey of our life is to rediscover this true purpose once our EGO is introduced into our life. Often when we choose to move away from our true purpose God/universe will send us signs to bring us back on course. If we continue to ignore the signs sometimes there will be a major life correction to get us back on track.

The struggle we all have is trying to understand the signs that appear in our life. These signs can be confusing, just as looking at a sign on a signpost. I have been fortunate to travel to England the last two years to visit my daughter who now calls England her home. In England they have brown signposts for everything you could possibly be looking for. My new Son-in-law likes to call them sticks of knowledge. These signposts can be of great benefit to find what you're looking for but they can also be a bit confusing when there are many signs on the same post.

In life we all wish there were signposts with every step we took letting us know that we can continuing on the right path. Even if these signposts got confusing we would feel comfort because the signs would keep coming & eventually we'd get back on the right track.

For me God/universe does create these signs they appear often in our lives if we pay attention to what's going on around us. In the book "The Celestine Prophecy" by James Redfield he discussed reaching an insight where the signs in your life are illuminated. This "illumination" is a sign that a particular person or thing is important in your life. I personally haven't seen this "illumination" but I have learned to pay attention to things that draw my attention. This switch in focus can happen anywhere. Many times it's a subtle sign that appears & if you're not paying attention you could miss it. The key for me is the switch in focus. It's never the thing I'm currently paying attention to.

To become more aware of the signs in your life you need to take the time to truly observe your life. This practice isn't an easy jump for many us because the EGO always pushes forward with what it wants now. I would suggest to start by just slowing down & observing things around you. Paying attention & opening your mind to the potential of these signs from God/universe will allow these signs to begin to appear in your life. They may not be as obvious as a signpost but they will appear & benefit you as you move forward in your life.

The journey to discover our true life's purpose can be a lifelong journey. By opening our minds & hearts to the messages that God/universe sends us we can begin to find our way back to our life's purpose. In the end we all have choices & making the right ones is really up to us. Believe in yourself & believe in God/universe, together we can accomplish anything.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Begin to pay attention to the signs that appear in your life & you will discover your true life's purpose!"

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."

A walk in the woods

I love to take walks. It gives me time with Heidi, time with our two dogs & time to reflect on "things". We've been lucky because starting on Thursday the weather in Central Indiana has been nice enough to take a walk everyday. We live approximately 5 miles from a state park so it's always easy for us to just take off & go for a walk. The dogs really love to go. They feel the park is their park & they love to explore it.

I've talked often here about our connection with nature & for me personally that connection, many times, keeps me going. The past couple of weeks have been amazingly busy. Things keep happening all around me. I've been volunteering a lot with different organizations & people. Mostly I've written for them but in addition I've also helped with accounting/tax issues. I continue to help my friend with his business. It's been a few weeks now & things are getting to a good place for him. I'm always happy to help anyone I can with any of the talents I have. I've rarely turned down helping others in my life because I strongly believe in giving back.

So why am I writing & telling you about this? I think especially when things get busy in our lives we need to take time to reflect. Time always seems to get away from us & the busier we get the harder it is to take time for ourselves & to reflect on our life. I've discovered in the last few years that the time I take to reflect on the situations in my life & the time I take to reflect on where I'm at within myself is time well invested.

I understand that when you feel you have so many balls up in the air it can be difficult to find the time to reflect. But I challenge you to do just that, even if it's only a few minutes to just "be" & reconnect with your true self. You will find clarity in the time you take to reflect & your life going forward will seem easier & lighter.

So take a walk in the woods or just sit quietly even if it's just for a few minutes. Understand that in order to be a shinning light in your life you need to take time for yourself.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"The time you take to reflect on yourself & the "things" happening in your life will pay bigger dividends then you can imagine. Take time today!"

Overcoming the Judgment of others

Yesterday we discussed judging or stereotyping others. So what happens when you're the one who feels judged. What is your reaction to this situation? Do you attack the person judging you? Do you stay quiet and just allow this judgment to be passed even if you believe it's not true?

One of the first things I ever learned in business is that if you make someone feel like they are being attacked they will only become defensive. This defensive behavior makes progress in any discussion almost impossible. There are ways & techniques around this situation but the bottom line is that when we feel attacked we become defensive.

Outside of business the same statement is true. So if you feel you've been judged, especially when that judgment isn't true, realize that your first reaction will be defensive. Understanding this can help you move beyond the judgment being placed on you. This defensive reaction is our EGO talking to us. Remember that the EGO is always the first to the party & reacting from a place of EGO can almost always lead to greater problems.

So how should you react? I think the answer to this depends on the situation. Beyond your natural reaction of defense realize that who you're with & what the situation is will take precedence over your reaction. (You never want to escalate a situation when you don't feel safe)

I learned, in my life, that the best reaction to feeling judged is time. Take a deep breath move beyond your EGO & into your center. Try & understand where this person is coming from. Also realize that we reflect back to ourselves our biggest fears, so the reason this judgment may hurt is because there is some truth in what is being said or least you fear that there's some truth in it.

My next step is to try & take a measured response. I do this by telling the person that the comment they said hurt me & I ask them to explain why they feel the way they do. A true discussion can be very enlightening. You may learn more about yourself & the other person. This discussion may have to wait if you can't control your defensive reaction because responding when angry can escalate the situation.

When I am unable to have a discussion with the other person/people involved (because of safety or logistics or my defensive reaction) I try to understand & reflect on what has been said. This is true even when the comment is truly hurtful or mean spirited.

The way for each us to grow beyond where we are at in our life is to try & learn from any situation we encounter in life. God/universe has a way of throwing situations at us to help us learn what we need to learn to move on. Being judged unfairly is one of those learning situations. Open your heart to the love we all have inside of us. Understand that rude or unkind comments from another may be their way of trying to find the love they are missing in their life. People react from their own programming, this isn't a justification, it's just a fact of life. In order to grow & help the world to become a better place we have to move beyond the hate & judgment of others & become an example of love for the world to see.

Till Monday, have a wonderful weekend.

Bill

Quote of the day:"Let go of the judgment others place on you. Discover the love you have inside & radiate that love into the world"

Stereotypes

Stereotypes, why oh why do we fall into stereotypes. A while back I did a couple blogs on labeling things in our life & on judging people. Stereotyping falls right into these blogs and if you'd like you can look back & read them (I think they are in Sept. or Oct). Stereotyping to me is a disgusting practice that far too many of us fall into. It's an easy way to judge anyone. You see if you're English you have bad teeth or if your from the south you must be stupid & a hick. We've all heard them over & over again. In fact that's the problem. We've heard these statements so much in our life that they've become a part of our life.

There's a wonderful song from the musical "South Pacific" called "Carefully Taught" here are the lyrics:

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!


We need to let go of the prejudices & stereotypes that we've been taught all of our life. The only way to move forward to a better world is to become open & accepting to others. Take a look at all the things you define in your life & challenge those definitions. Move beyond the programing of your life. Open your heart & love, accept people for who they are not who they should be.

I know this isn't an easy lesson. It's hard to move beyond something you've always know. There's comfort in the normal or in the deep seated teachings we've learned to accept. Yes, we've accepted them without challenge because they've been so embedded in our life & especially in our youth. Break the pattern & change the world!


Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Let go of all the stereotypes you've learned, open your heart to the beauty of others. Make the world a better place."

The Earth

What are your feelings about the Earth? I mean beyond the fact that it's the place we call home. What do you really think? or have you thought at all about the Earth? The last few months have brought about a lot of crazy things happening on this little planet of ours. We have mega earthquakes in Haiti & Chile. We've had huge snowstorms for the east coast, record warm weather in Vancouver for the Olympics, flooding in Europe, Tsunami warnings throughout the Pacific & huge chunks of ice breaking off of Antarctica. Our planet is in peril.

So what are your thoughts? Many people believe the Earth is actually a living being on it's own & it's hurting from the way we are treating it. I know in my lifetime that things are changing, things just aren't right. I'm not trying to get into a deep political discussion here but I believe we all need to start to pay attention.

For me we all have a deep connection to the Earth. A connection that goes back to the beginning of the human race & even though generations have lived in large cities away from the land, I still believe that that connection is here for each of us.

Take time to reconnect with the Earth. There is a divinity in the connection we have with the Earth. Look to the traditions of our forefathers & the true spirit of the American Indians. Take time to just "be" in nature. The planet is depending on us!!

I believe in the human spirit. I think together we can do anything. Let's start today & do the right thing in all we do.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Discover the beauty & majesty of this precious planet of ours. Reconnect with nature & rediscover the divinity of the Earth."

The Olympic Spirit

Do you enjoy watching the Olympics? Do you get into all the competition? I've always enjoyed the Olympics. I can remember watching them from the time I was very small. I was always very involved in sports when I was growing up & to me the Olympics were the ultimate sporting event. I dreamed more about being in the Olympics then playing professional sports. After enjoying the Olympics for the last 16 days & seeing the U.S. win more medals then any country has ever won in the winter Olympics. I started to think about what I truly like about the Olympics.

Yes, I enjoy the competition & I enjoy watching the joy in the athletes faces when they win or even when they do better than they thought they would do. The wonderful heart warming stories of how they were able to overcome adversity in their life to make it to the top of their sport. Yes, I enjoy all of this but the more I thought about the Olympics the more I thought about the spirit of the Olympics.

It's in that spirit that the world pauses for a few weeks every 2 years & just enjoys the coming together of people from all over the world. It's a sharing of a common event....a true shared experience. All the walls come down between the athletes & between all the people attending the events. It's in this spirit of letting go of our differences that we change the world.

So many of us put up walls to keep others out of our lives. We close our mind & our heart to only let people in who think like we do. We become entrenched in what we think we want or need in our life. The Olympics show us that we can come together & work for a better world for all.

Keep the spirit of cooperation in your heart alive. Reach out to people who are different then you. Open your mind to the love you have in your heart. Let the walls of protection dissolve away & discover that truly we are all the same. Believe in people & discover the love we all have inside.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Keep the spirit of the Olympics in your heart everyday. Open your heart to everyone who enters your life."