Feeling Lost

Have you ever had the feeling of being lost? Where everything in your life seems to be just not in step. Where any choice you make seems to be the wrong one. We all have times in our life when we feel totally disconnected with everything in our life. When you're going through those times it's difficult to believe that there's an answer that will help you get your life back.

I've had times in my life that I have felt completely connected to everything. Where every move I make is the easiest simplest decision I could ever make & I've had times where I've felt completely lost. As I've grow in my spiritual development I've learned how to smooth out these extremes. Don't get me wrong they still happen to me but I've learned over the years how to move beyond the feeling of being totally disconnected or completely lost quicker then I could in the past. Here's the steps I've learned to take:

1. The most important step is to not get down on yourself. Understand that life like nature is all about cycles & we all go through ups & downs so forgive yourself for feeling lost.

2. Observe what is happening in your life, sometimes during this "lost" time there are very clear messages that God/universe is trying to send you. If you pay attention to the messages sometimes that alone will bring you back to feeling connected.

3. Take time to connect to your true self (soul) understand what you're feeling & rediscover the love you have inside. Love will often lighten your mood & bring you back to a connection with everything.

4. Reconnect with nature whether it's taking a walk in a park, spending time in your garden or escaping to a national park. There is a deep & meaningful connection between all of us & nature. By taking the time to reconnect with nature we connect with everything & this connection will lead us back from being lost.

These steps are only the beginning but they are a great way to lead yourself out of the feeling of being lost. There are always things to be learned from everything we go through in our life. The key is to understand this & to move forward in the current moment. Many times this lost feeling can be a shadow of our past & by staying in the current moment we can reconnect with who we truly are & what we want in life.

Till tomorrow,

Hugs,

Bill


Quote of the day: "When you feel lost in your life, take time to acknowledge what your feeling. Rediscover the love in your heart & reconnect with everything."

Down the rabbit hole

How far down the rabbit hole of self discovery are you willing to go? In this day & age we rarely take the time we need to understand who we truly are. We are pressured by the people around us to "suck it" & move on. So, for most of us, no matter what we've been through, we bury the pain & move on. We move forward without ever looking at what's happened to us & often we are thrown back to the same feelings over & over again in our lives. We wonder why we aren't able to manifest the things we want in our life & our life is never as fulfilling as we'd like it to be.

Does this sound like you? This was me for many years. I have mentioned before that I grew up in a family of 5. I have 4 sisters so I'm the only boy. I went through some big crisis in my life when I was fairly young including a car crash that broke my younger sisters back. Because of the crisis I had to deal I was always regarded as someone who excelled in these situations. I seemed to think clear & quicker then most people in the crisis situations I had to deal with. This sounds wonderful but the downside of it was that I would bury how felt to get through the situation & most of time once the crisis was over the feelings were buried so deep that I never really looked back on them.

I struggled often in my younger life to find out what I really wanted in life. I was outwardly successful (having a good job, etc) but inside I was a mess. I was grasping for anything to give meaning to my life. Don't misunderstand I was still a very happy person & I had a pretty good life but once you got beyond the surface I didn't really know who I was or what I wanted. So I started to take time to get to know me & as I did this I realized that many of the things that happened to me in my life were based on the same feelings or in the same patterns. I discovered that in order to move forward in my life I needed to learn & grow from everything I'd been through. Part of this learning was acknowledging the feelings I had & trying to understand why I felt the way I felt.

This self discovery can be painful but through the process of feeling the emotions & understanding where the feelings come from you can move beyond the feelings & onto a better life. God/universe wants to help us learn & grow. God/universe wants us to become the person we truly can be. Because of this if we avoid the lessons God/universe sends us, those lessons will be sent back to us again & again. It is only through the process of self discovery that we able to move onto a better life.

Take time to look deep inside yourself, acknowledge all the feelings you've hidden away in smallest places of your heart & soul. Learn from these feelings & allow your life to grow into a more joyful life.

Till Tuesday, have a great holiday weekend.

Hugs,

Bill

I am still looking for guest bloggers. I would like to have Wednesday's be guest bloggers day on my blog, if you're interested contact me at Timberwolf12345@gmail.com

Quote of the day: "Take the time you need for true self discovery. Learn & grow through the things you've experienced & begin to lead a more joyful life."

Gateway

Today I welcome my first "Guest Blogger" Erana Leiken. I have enjoyed Erana's blog "Just doing my thing" for a longtime now. I was introduced to her through the "Authentic Blogger" group on Facebook.

Erana Leiken, principal of Tiger Marketing, is a marketing and PR consultant and freelance writer. She also teaches communication courses at the University of Phoenix and Web marketing and interactive content for the Art Institute of Phoenix. Formerly an NBC reporter, magazine editor, and Web business writer, she is writing creative nonfiction and doing Web consulting.

Please welcome Erana & be sure to check out her blog.

Gateway

By Erana Leiken

I close my eyes and breathe deeply. As I take deeper, longer breaths, in my mind, I am transported.

I stand before an arch looking at the path that takes me into a golden field on the way to the garden, my beautiful, tranquil garden.


I follow the path to the water and the secluded garden where my guide awaits.

It is a spiritual retreat, and only I have access. It is an inner resting place I have created when there is nowhere else to go.

Life’s pressures and stresses are not allowed in my secret garden.

Once I am there, I escape the cares and weight of life. My guide is always there …when I am afraid, uncertain and alone. We are connected. We sit beside the water, and my guide listens to my doubts and apprehensions.

I know I can rely on my guide to help me when life is too much, and I need refuge. This is our time and place, an inner world untouched by others where there is peace and comfort from external reality.


In the garden, I am comforted by my gentle guide. We are detached from the material world.

In this oasis of meditation, I transcend responsibilities, worries and anxieties.

In my garden I am calm. I am safe. I am free.







Copyright © Erana Leiken, 2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
http://justdoingmythingcom.blogspot.com/
Archway photo by Maureen McGarrigle

Rose colored glasses

I have often been asked if my positive attitude about life is really just looking at the world through rose colored glasses. My answer is always the same, "No" I see the pain, the ugly human behavior & the need to grab power. I understand all of these things, I just choose not to focus on them. I've been hurt in my life & I've known pain & bad times but even in those times I've found the joy in each moment as I move forward in my life.

Life is about choices & you have a choice in each moment that you live. You can choose to accept all the negative that surrounds you or you can acknowledge the negative & move beyond it to place of joy. The choice is really up to you. Your life is really your own choosing. Don't blame others for your misfortune. Understand that what happens in your life is your own creation. This can be a difficult lesson to learn especially when bad things continue to happen to you but it is a lesson that you should learn.

I'm not saying that there aren't random bad things that happen to everyone from time to time. What I'm saying is that by understanding how we create our life we minimize these bad things & bring more joy into our life. We can't control much in our life but we can allow the God/universe to create the life we envision. Our biggest challenge is allowing not controling. We become very attached to our dreams/intentions & the more we're attached the harder it is for the God/universe to create what we envision.

To me detachment works like this; I want a job that is fulfilling & that pays enough for me to be able to pay my bills. I then allow God/universe to create the circumstances for this intention to be created. You can be more specific but the key is to allow God/universe to create the path to the fulfillment of your intention & to not be attached to the results.

Take time each day to create the life you want to live. Let go of the negative in your life & live a more joyful life today.

Till tomorrow,


Bill

PS I'm still looking for guest bloggers. I would love to hear from more of you so I can promote your blog here. Contact me at Timberwolf12345@gmail.com

Quote of the day: "Life is about choices, choose joy & you'll discover more joy in your life!"

The Gulf Crisis

I try to avoid the headlines. My vision for this blog has been to discuss the ways I've learned to live a more joyful life. I've varied a few times because when I can't get something out of my head I truly need to write down my thoughts. I thank all of you for indulging me when I've moved a bit off topic!!

The crisis in the Gulf continues to have a greater & greater impact on so many things (fishing, tourism, marine life) that I left it was time to address it. I have become a little more involved with this cause in the positive way I try to deal with everything in my life. On Saturday I was involved in a phone call creating positive intentions to help the Gulf. (Here's the link if you want to listen). I have also become very involved with a new group that Deepak Chopra has started called "Collective Creativity" . The idea behind this group is to come together to & creativity come up with solutions for the current Gulf crisis but also for bringing the Earth back into harmony. Deepak leads the group with an 8 point plan on how you can help right now.

I ask each of you that reads this blog to let go of the negativity involved in this crisis. Look for positive solutions. Look for ways to help & get involved. I am a strong believer in the human spirit & I believe & know that together we can do anything. Remember that thoughts create things & if we all get mired down in the negative we will create more negative events around this crisis.

I understand that there is a lot of anger involved with this crisis but anger will never solve anything in life. Anger only helps to destroy what has already been built. There's more then enough blame to go around for everyone involved in this crisis but I ask for you to let go of the anger & the blame, focus on the positive things you can do to help. Envision the recover of this area that has just begun to recover from Katrina.

The negativity that surrounds all of us on a daily basis holds us back from leading a truly joyful life! Let go of all the noise, come together in love. Release the need to be right all the time & instead become apart of the solution. I believe in the human spirit, I've seen what can be accomplished when we come together & I know the best of us shines through when the need is the deepest. Join me in bringing the world together & the earth back into harmony!!

Till tomorrow,

Bill

I am still looking for guest bloggers, if you're interested please email me at: Timberwolf12345@gmail.com.

Quote of the day: "When things look the darkest always reach for the light. Together we can make a difference, start today!!

Exercise & Spirituality

The longest hike that Heidi & I went on in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park recently was Bote Mountain. The hike turned out to be a total of 8.5 miles, on it's own that doesn't sound too bad but to reach the top of the mountain we hiked up 3,000 feet in a about 3.5 miles from the parking lot. The day was hot & the humidity was very high again. I was carrying a framed pack with our water, lunch & my camera in it....probably 20-30 pounds. The difficult part of this hike was that there were no switchbacks so we literally hiked straight up the mountain.

On the way up we enjoyed the scenery very much but were annoyed by a bunch of flies/gnats that seemed to continue to fly around our heads. As we hiked I thought about my deep connection with nature & the beauty all around me but as I began to get tired I started to understand why exercise (like yoga) is connected to several of the worlds religions. The endorphins that are released from physical exercise lift your mind to a new & amazing place. It allows you to move beyond the EGO & into a deep spiritual place.

I use to be a pretty good athlete when I was younger & although I had experienced this release of endorphins when I was younger the body/mind connection has never been clearer to me then in the last year. Exercise has become a bigger part of my life over the past year. I currently ride my bike between 18-25 miles a day & Heidi & I hike with the dogs about 4 miles a day. I have experienced this body/mind connection often in the past year but never to the extent I felt it on Bote Mountain.

I wish I had a bunch of great pictures to share from this journey but the sad part of our climb was that there was never a clear vista to look upon. We did see some lovely views through the trees but nothing that came out well in pictures. We sat on the top of the mountain for a long time & ate our lunch (a bunch of granola bars). As we sat there I reflected on the wonderful feeling of accomplishing this great climb & I began to realize the extent of this body/mind connection.

So, what's the point of this blog? Take care of your body, exercise & eat well. Your body is the shell that holds your spirit & the better it works, the easier it is to connect to your spirit. Exercise is one way to move beyond the EGO & listen to your true self (soul). The connection to your true self is the most important connection you can make & whatever helps you reach this deep level of yourself I encourage you to do.....for me exercise & silence are the two easiest ways to get there.

I hope you have a great weekend!!

Till Monday,

Bill

PS I am still looking for guest bloggers, if you're interested in writing something for my blog contact me at timberwolf12345@gmail.com

Quote of the day: "The deep connection to our true self can be realized through daily exercise. Take time to grow the body/mind connection & discover the joy in your soul."

Magic

Heidi & I have always been big fans of Disney & as I've mentioned before we were married at Disney World in 2000. Disney does many things very well including their movies, parks & merchandising but the one thing they do above everything else is create an atmosphere of joy. In our recent visit to Disney World I saw this phrase in many places "Where magic happens everyday". What does this have to do with my blog? Well, I believe in Magic. I think magical things happen all around us everyday. Beyond my love for the magic in the world this statement creates an atmosphere that each of us should consider.

I've written in the past about how thoughts become things. Therefore, if we focus on thoughts that create the world we want, we will create that world. For me, I can't imagine a world without magic. I am continually awed at the wonder in the world. I find great joy in the smallest things like; watching the birds, seeing the clouds or talking with the animals that enter my life. I also believe that magical things happen all around us everyday. I choose to believe in magic & therefore I see magical things happen all around me....that's the way it works.

In your life you can choose what you want to see. The power of thought is an amazing power. The problem is that we can have an internal dialogue that creates our world even when that dialogue is never expressed, that's how powerful thoughts are. By choosing a mantra or certain thoughts that you want to create in your life & repeating that mantra many times throughout the day we can focus our thoughts on what we want to create. This focusing won't eliminate the internal dialogue but it will begin to minimize it's effect.

When what you want to create isn't being manifested in your life one of the first places I look is my internal dialogue. This internal dialogue is often your EGO talking. For me it works like this; "I don't have time to pay attention to the flowers right now I have too much that I need to do for me." this might be my internal voice & my immediate reaction to what I'm facing but through my personal work & experience I have learned to let go of that thought & take the time I need to enjoy the flowers. We all have this internal dialogue. We can choose to listen to it or try to ignore it but it won't go away easily. By repeating a mantra over & over again we can change our initial thought from the EGO to what we truly want to manifest in our life. Quieting our internal dialogue can be a long process because of the years & years we've allowed it to flourish. Don't get discourage you can change your thoughts & create the world you want to see.

Believe in magic!! Discover the wonder in the world today & find the joy in each & every moment!! I believe in you & I know there's magic in everything!

Till tomorrow,

Bill


PS I'm still looking for more people who would like to be a guest blogger on my blog (thanks to those who have responded thus far). If you're interested contact me at timberwolf12345@gmail.com.

Quote of the day: "Take time to see the magic in everything around you because magic happens here everyday!"