Guilt

One of the deepest negative emotions we have is Guilt. Guilt has been used to manipulate people for thousands of years. Guilt is one of the main differences between us & other animals on our planet. Guilt is ingrained in our culture & in most of the major religions in the world. It can be one of the most difficult negative emotions to move beyond.

So, have you ever felt guilt? Do you know how to move beyond it? The basis of guilt is the fact that we are extremely hard on ourselves & the way to move beyond is to forgive yourself. We all make mistakes & no matter what mistake we make in our life, the way to move past the mistake is forgiveness. I know this sounds easy & to some extent it is. The hard part is to actually forgive yourself.

Remember that whatever happens in your life, once it's done it's in the past & can't be changed. We all battle with our past & the only way to move beyond the past is to forgive yourself or the others that have done you wrong. So, how do we forgive ourselves? For me, the first step is to realize that I am an imperfect being. I make mistakes, it's part of being human. Then I accept responsibility for the mistake I made. What does that mean? Correcting the mistake as best as I can. Asking for forgiveness from the other people that were involved in my mistake or admitting that I was the one that did something.

The next step for me is to allow myself the time to feel remorse for what I did. Once I move beyond that step, I forgive myself & I ask God/universe to forgive me as well. We live in a beautiful world & one of the most amazing things about it is that if we are truly sorry for our mistake we will always be forgiven. Once I forgive myself I let go of the guilt.

I live each day as a new beginning. This way I'm always in the present moment. Part of this process to let go of the past & part of letting go of the past is releasing guilt & forgiving myself. You are beautiful person but you'll never be perfect. Understand your faults, forgive yourself & move on to a more joyful life!

Have a great weekend,

Till Monday,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Guilt is one of the deepest negative emotions. Forgive yourself & let go of the guilt & you will discover a more joyful life!"

Releasing Anger

I've learned in my life to let go of anger. Sometimes it can be difficult especially when life sends you some challenging situations. I had one of those challenging situations yesterday & it showed me how far I've been able to come in my life.

Many of you know that over the past couple of months I've been helping my friend out with his business. He's a great guy & I'm happy to help him while I'm looking for work. As I usually do I went up to his place yesterday, the day went well & I got everything caught up for him with his books. A few minutes before I was ready to go I hear an employee of his calling my name, saying come quickly. This employee tells me that my truck just got run into from a truck hauling a doublewide trailer. My truck was just parked on the street in a legal parking spot.

I went out & checked the damage. It wasn't too bad but I haven't been in an accident in a long time. I could of gotten really upset when the truck driver came back to talk to me about it. But I chose to take the high road. I made a decision that even though he crushed part of my truck it was still drivable & I was certain it would be fixed.

The policeman who came within a few minutes, even commented to me; "You're taking this really well". I said; "Things happen, I'm sure he didn't mean to hit my truck." The policeman then said to the truck driver; "How are you doing?" & the truck driver responded "I was better before this". I finished the exchange by saying to the truck driver; "Don't worry about it, things happen & it's not a big deal." He actually smiled at me.

So what's point of this story? The point is we always have choices in our life regardless of the situation. We can choose to get angry & be consumed by the negative emotions that surround us or we can choose to find peace in the situation & help others to get through it. In the past I wouldn't have always chosen to take the high road, as I've written before I use to have a very bad temper. But through lots of self work I've learned to move beyond the anger & take the high road in life. You can do it too!! Not just with anger but with any negative emotion. You can learn to let it go & move back to a place of peace & love.

Life is too short to allow negative emotions to take over your life. Allow yourself to feel what you're feeling & then let that emotion go & return to love. No matter how angry you get now at the littlest things, you can move beyond to a better place!! I believe in you & I know the process works because I've done it myself. Let go of the anger & discover more joy!!

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"By letting go of anger & moving back to a place of peace & love, you will discover more joy in every moment of your life."

Reality

What if everything we think we know about life is wrong? What if everything we've been taught isn't really what our life or world is all about? I always look to expand my mind & I allow information to come to me from many different sources. I allow this information to come to me freely & if it peaks my interest I continue the exploration of it until I have more facts. Why do I note this? Because I know that everyone has their own process & I believe in letting people process information any way that works for them.

A little over a month ago Deepak Chopra hosted a conference in CA called "Sages & Scientists Symposium". In this conference he brought together some of the worlds leading scientists as well as some well known spiritual leaders. I'm including the first video in the series from this conference at the bottom of this blog.

In this conference the scientists discussed the fact that there is no reality except for what we create. Our mind does not "create" anything within the confines of our brain. The brain is like every other organ in our body it process chemical & causes actions but doesn't know what anything is outside of our body. What? Yes, there's a term that's used very often when discussing this it is "non-local" meaning it doesn't happen within us. Everything we know as reality is created by us & by our connection with everything else.

We are truly connected to a universal energy & it through this connection that we are able to share the experience of living our life. This is the reason that we can say that our thoughts truly do create our reality. The exploration of this connection isn't easy but there have been studies done showing the effects of positive thoughts on the molecules of water & on prayers & healing thoughts effects on people who are sick.

It's an amazing process to know that we can create anything we want in our life but also a little scary. So why don't we have the life we truly want? The answer to this question is easy because we're not connected to this universal energy. We become so wrapped up in the world we've created that we lose our connection to everything else. It is in this connection that all things are possible.

I've written at length about different ways to connect to your soul (true self). To me it's through this connection to our soul that we discover our connection to everything. Take time to quiet the world you've created. Pay attention to the things that come into your life. Quiet the EGO & discover your connection to everything. You can create anything you want in your life. Believe in the process & find the joy you seek in life.

Till Tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "Reality is only what we perceive it to be. Create the reality you want to experience in your life & discover the joy in the life you create!"

The Truth behind the Lies

Why do we lie to ourselves? Do we actually think we can fool our true selves? So many of us are afraid of the truth especially when it's the truth about ourselves. We walk through our lives telling ourselves lies over & over again. The truth is we know the answers. In fact we know the answers to everything if we allow them to come to us.

Do the lies ever really work for you? For me there's times in the short term that telling myself a lie works. It's especially true when I'm doing something physical....I can make it to the top of the next hill. I can lift that box. But these lies aren't the lies I'm talking about. I'm talking about the lies we tell ourselves everyday. The lies we choose to believe because it's easier then facing the truth.

The real truth is that we deny ourselves the chance for growth every time we lie to ourselves. Many times the lie we tell ourselves is directed by the EGO. The EGO will tell us over & over again that xyz is what we need to be happy & when we're not happy after getting xyz it tells us it's because we need abc. The EGO tries over & over again to keep us away from our true self, why? Because it's afraid it won't be satisfied right now if we follow our true self.

The truth is that even the EGO will be satisfied if we listen & follow our true self. The EGO is afraid of everything that's not instant gratification but it will find joy when we are truly satisfied. It will still want more from time to time because that's how the EGO works, but it will find a state bliss that it's never known when it allows the true self to take over.

Stop lying to yourself, be honest & discover your true self. Find what will bring you true bliss, let go of the EGO & face the truth! I realize that sometimes this can be hard. We have to admit to ourselves that we're not perfect, that we don't always have the answer & that we're not always right. But it is through this truth that we will learn & grow. For realizing that we all make mistakes & we're all imperfect is the truth that will set us free.

Till Tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Stop lying to yourself & discover the truth that will set you free!"

Tearing down the walls

Do you put up walls? Do you compartmentalize your life? Do you decide what you'll allow others to see? I think from time to time we all hide behind the walls that we build in our lives. Why do we build them? Mostly for what we perceive is protection. We believe that by hiding things about ourselves we are protecting ourselves from the world. We've become so conditioned in our life that we're afraid to feel anything but especially pain. We scared to death about being hurt.

Fear is a deadly emotion it robs us from living the joyful life we want so desperately to live. We justify everything in our life by hiding behind fear & the truth is all the fear we create isn't real. Rarely do we ever experience the things we imagine but yet we justify our behavior because of what we imagine.

In our life we put up so many walls to hide behind because of the fear we have of being hurt. Now don't misunderstand, in the world today it's important to keep some information about yourself from the world especially on-line because their are people out their who will take advantaged of the information. But in our day to day life we don't need to hide from who we are. We are so concerned about what others think of us. That we're scared to be who we are.

This isn't the way to live your life. In order to discover more love & joy in your life you need to open yourself up. Sure sometimes you can get hurt but overall you'll discover more joy by being who you are. You'll learn that most of the fear you had is not justified & that people, overall, are loving & compassionate. In addition remember that the universe reflects back to us what we are. So if we come from a place of fear, we will be confronted by the fear more & more till we let it go. God/universe will always try to help us grow. It will continue to send us the messages we need to hear to move beyond who are & to become the loving being we all can be.

So what happens if you don't know who you are? The first step is always self discovery. You need to take time to get to know yourself. In the mean time be open & loving to everyone you meet. As you discover what's important in your life & who you are, be true to yourself.

Tear down the walls in your life. Open your heart, open your life & be true to yourself. The world is here to welcome you. Stop hiding & you will discover more joy.

Till Monday,

Bill

Quote of the day: Tear down the walls in your life. Open your heart to love & God/universe will send you more love! Be who you are, we're waiting to love you!"

Watching the Clouds go by

Do you remember watching the clouds go by? Whatever happened to doing that? Just laying in the grass & watching the clouds go by. Imagining what shapes the clouds made. If we were lucky we could share that time with someone else. What an amazing memory, the beauty of clouds.

I don't think this practice has gone by the wayside because we've grown up, do you? I don't remember my children ever doing it. I think it's like so many other things in our life. It's been lost because we just don't take the time any longer. We're so tied up in our modern life that we don't take the time for simple little pleasures.

We have beauty all around us. We just need to take the time to discover it. Don't schedule every minute of everyday. Don't sit by the computer for every free moment you have. Take the time to drift away like the clouds. Expand your imagination & let go of your worries. Take time to just be!

I know it's easier said then done. We all live busy lives but the stress in our lives is self created & most of it is because of the pressure we put on ourselves. Take time to be creative even if you don't feel like you are. Color outside the lines!! Let go of expectations & just enjoy watching the clouds go by!

Your life can change dramatically if you just allow it to happen. Start taking time for yourself today & allow your life to blossom into all of it's glory. Life is not about what you own, how much money you have or being someone important. Life is about the next moment, it's the only one we have. Start letting go & enjoy watching the clouds go by!!

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Take time to be creative, take time to just be. Start by just laying down & watching the clouds go by! Your soul will thank you!!"

When winning just doesn't happen

The stage was set for a beautiful ending. The ball was sent on it's way, it hits the backboard & then the rim. Then it falls harmlessly to the floor & the fairytale ending we all hoped for doesn't happen. As many of you know the Butler Bulldogs fell a little short last night. I'm incredibly proud of them & the effort they put forward. Butler was a shinning example for the city of Indianapolis, the state of Indiana & College basketball in general. Duke had won their previous 5 games in the tournament by an average of of 16.6 points, they beat Butler by 2. I congratulate Duke they played a great game & they were able to make the shots when they had to.

So what does this have to do with finding more joy? Yesterday, we discussed how sometimes in life you're the underdog & that your attitude can make the difference. But, what happens in life when you just don't win. When you just don't get the victory? To me these are the moments that define us. It's not when we win, it's not when everything is going our way. It's when we think we should win, when we expect to win & we don't. It can be life changing; but the true result of not winning is completely up to you.

The heartache of losing can be overwhelming & if we allow it, it can bring you crashing down to a very negative place. So how do we move beyond the pain of losing? The first step is time. Take some time & allow yourself to feel & understand what happened. Time is an amazing healer when things don't go our way. Allowing ourselves to move away from the moment of heartache can slowly blur the moment enough that it doesn't hurt as bad.

The next step is the most important. Evaluate what happened, learn from the loss. It is through learning that we can move beyond the pain of a loss. There are always lessons in every moment of our life but when things are going well we tend to ignore the lesson & just ride the wave. When we lose it's very important to be honest with ourselves & to understand what happened. There maybe times when we didn't do anything wrong. We truly did our best & we just lost, it happens. Other times, if we're honest, we can discover why things happened the way they did.

The truth is no matter how badly you want something to happen in your life. There will always be losses. If we learn and grow from these losses we become better people. Sometimes losing can actually open our eyes to a new possibility. The lessons we learn can change our life. The truth is you may have been ignoring it while things we're going well. Maybe we didn't even truly want what we thought we wanted or maybe the success we thought we had in hand was only for our EGO.

The willingness to learn & grow when things don't go our way can be the most important thing we can do in our life. The ability to move beyond the negative and discover joy even in the darkest moments, will open the universe to all possibilities. It is through the process of learning that we will discover the messages of God/universe & find true joy in our life!

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"When winning doesn't happen. Learn from the loss & open your heart to the messages of God/universe. By listening with an open heart we will discover more joy then we can imagine."