To sleep perchance to dream...

Sleep is very important to each of us. The research has shown that it is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. One of the big problems with people in the States is that they don't believe this fact. They think they can function on 4-6 hours of sleep a night. I've written before about how we are too busy in our lives & sleep is a by-product of that busyness. We believe it doesn't matter, that we'll be just fine with a little bit of sleep.

Why am I writing about this today? I believe sleep is important & I had a night where I just couldn't sleep. I have had these nights, as I'm sure most of you have, before but as I've grown in my spiritual practices they happen very rarely. I may have a night where I wake up several times because of vivid dreams but I rarely don't sleep.

I have learned in my life to deal with most things that are thrown at me. I have always been good under pressure & I have excelled even in life threatening situations but I don't do well without sleep. I really never have. What I have learned as I've grown in my spiritual life is to pay attention when this happens. To allow the thoughts that are filling my busy mind to flow freely. Then I just become quiet. I allow the silence to take over my body. Any thought that comes into my mind once I've become quiet is acknowledged & let go.

We can learn a lot from the thoughts that come to us in times of being quiet. These thoughts tend be our greatest fears & some of our most self limiting thoughts. If we allow ourselves the time to listen we can move beyond these thoughts & create a true shift in the energy of our life. Open your mind & discover silence, it can lead you to a wonderful new place.

God/universe works in wonderful ways & sometimes to get your attention God/universe will reach you at times you don't expect. When you're having trouble sleeping rather then getting upset about the lack of sleep, embrace the silence & discover the keys to a better life.

Until tomorrow,

Bill


Quote of the day:"Take time to get the sleep you need & if sleep eludes you. Take the time to be silent & find the answers you're looking for."

center>

The meaning of life

Possibly the oldest question in the world; What is the meaning of life? I think we all have a time in our life when we question why we're here. As part of that question we wonder what the meaning of life is. I think there's a big difference in this question between what our life's purpose is & the meaning of life.

A life's purpose is what drives us & hopefully what we end up doing. So maybe it's to be a teacher or to help children or to raise money for your favorite cause. There are hundreds of things you can do with your life & each one is just as important as the others. I've written before about finding your life's purpose. I truly believe that we are all born with a life's purpose. There is one thing that we are meant to do. Sometimes it takes us our whole life to discover what this purpose is & sometimes unfortunately, we never discover our true life's purpose. Life has a way of getting in the way of things sometimes, mostly because of our EGO. We move away from our true purpose for the instant gratification of the EGO & become more & more disconnected from our true self (soul) & our true life's purpose. Also, sometimes we can't make money at our true life's purpose, it only gives us great satisfaction. In these cases I always say you should volunteer or take time to do what fulfills you, so it's always a part of your life.

The meaning of life, to me, is the same for everyone & that meaning is to love. Through love our life is defined. Love is the greatest gift we have to give the world. I'm not necessarily talking about romantic love, that's a part of love. I'm talking about growing in love to the point that we give it freely to everyone in our life. Love is the answer to everything, there are no other questions! When we become pure love we are our most like God/universe. Unconditional love is the purest feeling we can know in this human form. It will bring us the greatest joy we can find in our life.

Each of us has the ability to love unconditionally it is only the EGO that keeps us away from this beautiful feeling. We are connected to everyone & everything. This connection is born in love. Learn to love with an open heart. Let go of the need to "get something" in return & make the world a better place.

Till Monday, have a great weekend,

Bill

Quote of the day: "The meaning of life is simple, it's to love unconditionally. Open your heart to love & you will be filled with great joy!"

The Start..........

The start of everything begins from nothing. Sometimes that's an important thing to remember. To me the idea behind this line is that we never know what we are going to create. The important thing is to begin!! What you begin isn't as important as beginning something. God/universe is amazing in the way it guides us through our lives. The difference between people who live in joy & those who don't is often just paying attention to the signs that come into our lives.

I've written in the past about "The beauty of each day" & how I start each day anew. This practice has allowed me to stay in a state of joy because regardless of what happened yesterday, I realize that yesterday is the past and can't be changed. The only way to stay in the present moment is to release the past & move onto a new day. The start of your day can be the most important part of it. How you begin can set the tone for the rest of the day.

To continue to grow in joy we need to learn to slow the world down. We all get caught up in the busyness of each day & because of this often we don't pay attention to the signs we are receiving from God/universe. What are these signs? The can be very diverse & often very simple. In James Redfield's book "The Celestine Prophecy" he says that the signs that are important in our life will "glow". In my life the signs that appear on daily basis that I need to pay attention to make them self's visible. What do I mean by this? I find that my attention is drawn to these signs, here's an example: I'm driving down the road listening to the radio. My attention is drawn to the side of the road. There I notice a sign that tells me something I needed to know. It doesn't have to be a sign it can be anything that your attention is drawn to. Often for me this "sign" is repeated in different ways throughout the day. The important thing is to pay attention.

We don't always know the destination of our daily journey. We only know that we are on a path. The path you take is truly up to you. Remember that the start of everything comes from nothing, so we don't have to know the destination to start the journey we only need to begin. By paying attention to the signs that God/universe sends us & starting each day anew we will find more joy in our life. Let go of yesterday & start the journey to your new life today!!

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "The start of each day is a great opportunity to begin anew. Letting go of the past & moving into a life filled with joy."

When I'm feeling blue

No, I'm not going to break into song. I thought it was important to discuss what I do when I feel blue. I've always been a very positive person & feeling blue or depressed doesn't happen often to me. It's not that I deny the feelings, in fact just the opposite is true. When I feel blue the first thing I do is acknowledge the feeling. We all have bad days & there's a lot to learn when we're feeling down or out of sorts. Sometimes we need the change in feelings to understand what's going on with us or what's going on around us.

Since I've always had a strong connection to nature many times when I feel blue it's because it's not the greatest day outside. It could be raining or snowing or just dark & cloudy. I'm not sure why many of us feel blue on days like these, I just know that many times these days can be the most difficult.

After I acknowledge that I'm feeling blue I take time to try & understand why I feel the way I do. Lately for me it's tied up with my search for work. There are times that I feel overwhelmed because as much as I've been trying to find work there's been nothing happening in my job search. Once I understand why I'm feeling the way I do, I look at what I can do to help the situation. In my job search there's little that I truly have control over and that is what I acknowledge. I give myself credit for continuing to move forward with my life regardless of the fact that I have been unemployed longer then I ever have in my life (11 months now) & I acknowledge that I can only do what I've done.

No matter the reasons behind your blue feeling the way to move beyond is to understand what is causing the feeling & what if anything you can do to help. I've written before that the truth about our life is that we have very little control over anything in our life. Understanding this fact & accepting that most things are beyond our control is a great first step to move forward.

We all put way to much pressure on ourselves to solve every problem that we encounter in our life. The truth is that this "created" pressure can be the cause of feeling overwhelmed. We start a chain reaction of events that are going to happen because of "x". This chain reaction hasn't happened. It's all conceived in our head & because of our past experiences we are sure we know what will happen next. Let go of that feeling!! Understand that all we have is the present moment & we can't know what will happen next in our life. This will free you from being overwhelmed, simply understanding that we create all this pressure on ourselves because of what we believe will happen.

The final step for me to move beyond the blue feeling is to release the feeling. I just let it go & remember all the good things I have in my life. I acknowledge that I am blessed & that I have always landed on my feet. Sometimes the feeling will stay around for a while but it never stays around for long. Learn to acknowledge all your feelings, understand why you feel the way you do then release them and move back into a place of joy.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"When I'm feeling blue, I acknowledge the feeling, understand what I can do to help the feeling & then release the feeling & remember all the good I have in my life."

Negotiating the maze of life

I think there are times in all of our lives that we feel a bit lost. Where every turn we take leads us to a dead end. Where the simplest navigation seems impossible to do correctly. Yes, we are lost in the maze of our own life & it seems that every decision we make is the wrong one. We are confused because we've walked this path many times before & yet right now it all feels so different.

When I was a child I loved to do books & books of mazes. I loved the challenge of figuring out the path through some of the trickiest mazes & I even enjoyed the challenge of timing myself to see how quickly I could solve the answer. These books taught me one important lesson about life. The path to the end isn't always straight. Sometimes we take a very winding path to get to where we want to end up & sometimes we get lost & end up at a whole new place.

The journey we take in life is always a very individualized one. The important thing to remember is to enjoy the walk & not worry about the destination. When you feel lost in the maze of your your own life. Take a deep breathe, let go of the fear of making the wrong choice. Open your mind to paying attention to everything that comes into your life. God/universe will show you the way out of the maze, we just need to pay attention to see the signs. Reconnect with your true self (soul) & let go of the EGO & the need to be right. I understand there are life changing choices we all need to make at times in our lives & I don't want to diminish these important decisions. But if we allow ourselves to pay attention to the signs God/universe sends us, the decisions will always be easier.

We worry so much about being right in our life. We all want to know the answer & we're very afraid when we don't. We put up a facade to try & fool everyone else. In the process we try to fool ourselves too. We move boldly forward without knowing where we're going because we don't want to admit that we don't have all the answers. So we stumble through the maze of life. Blindly making turns without knowing which way to go. I know this story because this use to be me. I would "make" things happen & then end up not being happy with the results.

Let go of the need to be right. Take time to discover the signs God/universe sends us. Listen to your true self & ask for help when you need it. Negotiating the maze of life isn't as difficult as we make it out in our mind. Enjoy the journey & discover the path as it unfolds before you.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "When uncertain of the path of your life. Open your mind to the signs all around you. Enjoy the journey & the path will unfold before you."

Seeing through the eyes of a Child

Do you remember being a child? Do you remember the wonderment in each day? The beauty of a child's smile. The joy you see in their eyes or the way they can get lost in the smallest thing. The world would be a better place if we could all return to our child like ways. The EGO doesn't exist in a child until we teach them that they are separate. Love & compassion are always a child's first thoughts. Children love to love.

I know what you're saying, "There's no way for us to be child like because the world would take advantage of us". Isn't that a sad way to be? If what we think becomes real in our life then just by thinking we can't be child like creates a world where we can't be child like. That's a world I don't accept.

I believe in wonderment. I look at each moment with the same joy I had as a child. My 3 girls would tell you that I love to play. I've never lost that & I hope I never will. Allowing yourself to rediscover the the wonder in the everyday will open your eyes to the beauty of the world around you. Shift your focus from knowing what everything is in your life.....that's a stapler. To finding the wonder in discovering every object or person that enters your life. Bring play back to your daily life. Allow yourself to laugh! Remember the things you loved as a child & allow yourself to enjoy them again.

I challenge you this weekend to rediscover the child within you. Do this even if it feels awkward. Just try it & discover the beauty & the joy in the world around you. I promise you that if you take the time to explore being a child again you will lighten your heart & discover the joy in your life. Let go of all the things you know & rediscover the joy in looking at everything anew!!

Till Monday, have a great weekend.

Bill

Quote of the day:"Discover the wonderment of the child within you. Rediscover what it's like to get lost in the joy of the moment!"

The Sound of Thunder

Yes, the sound of thunder. To me I've always been connected with lightning & thunder but for this blog I'm talking about what others may call AHA moments. To me true AHA moments don't happen often in our life. I'm talking about the big moments that can be life changing. The moments that as soon as they occur you know they're big. The moments that we can't escape. If we're lucky, I believe we may have a few of these big moments in our life & I believe we need to embrace them for what they are. They certainly can be scary but I believe they always happen for a reason.

I've talked before about how so many of us walk through life in a malaise. Not really paying attention to our life & just coasting through. We think that as long as nothing happens that's too bad or that takes us out of our comfort zone, life is good. I believe these AHA moments happen to take us out of this malaise & to bring us to a better life.

I've had three of these moments in my life. The first was when I was 15 years old & I was struck by lightning...yes actually struck. I was on a golf course with my bother-in-law (my oldest sisters husband). There was a pop up shower & my bother-in-law said let's just wait it out under this tree. The next thing I remember was falling in slow motion. I then woke up with a crowd of people around me saying "He's dead, he's dead!". Luckily, I wasn't but the doctor who treated me told me that the amount of electricity that went through my body would have killed at least 90% of the people that were hit by it. That statement & surviving this accident changed my life.

Off topic for a minute because everyone asks how it felt & the best I can do to describe it is being hit by a sledgehammer in every muscle in your body at exactly the same time. I was thrown 6-8 feet in the air & about 25-30feet across. I had a burn mark on my left shoulder where it entered & a burn mark with singed hair on my right leg where it left.

The next AHA moment I had in my life was the death of my father. His death had a profound impact on my life. I was surprised & taken back by this because he & I didn't see eye to eye much in my life. His death was the next major step in my transition to a better life. I started my own journey to joy many years before his death but his death pushed me towards more change & the self reflection I need to move onward.

The final AHA moment in my life was being laid-off last June. This moment was filled with the fear of what would happen. The true fear of the unknown. But, instead of allowing the fear to take me over I discovered the joy of writing. I began this blog only a few weeks after being laid-off & I've discovered that the process of writing has given me the definition I've needed to codify my belief's & to help others.

These true defining moments don't happen often but they do happen for a reason. Sometimes they can be painful because we need to change the way we live our lives & sometimes they can just be enlightening. Let go of the fear associated with these moments & know that they're here to help you grow & learn. Enjoy every moment even these AHA moments!!!

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "When a defining moment happens in your life, embrace the shift that it brings & know that through this moment you will grow into a better person."