It's always darkest....

It's always darkest before the dawn. Sometimes in life it's very difficult to believe that. We've all been through trials in our life & I'm sure there have been times for each of you when you felt that the darkness in your life was so dark that you'd never see the sun again. I've experienced this darkness before in my life & to me it always feels like being held under the water & needing to breathe. You feel like you'll never get that breath no matter how hard you try. But the God/universe will always help you even when it feels like they won't.

The truth is no matter how much you follow the exercises I've outlined before in this blog, there are times for all of us when we feel overwhelmed. For me I've learned that there can be great growth in these times of darkness & the most important thing is to trust in yourself & in the practices you've set-up. I know it's difficult to continue believing that "this to shall pass" but as with any storm in nature the darkness can't last forever.

So how do we make it through these times. As I mentioned above, you must continue to trust in yourself. This belief should be tempered with some self reflection. We need to take time when things are darkest to make sure we are acting from our soul & not our EGO. This self reflection should codify that we are on the correct path. That this vision for our life is what we truly want & it is in balance with the universe & our soul purpose.

The dark times will pass just as the sun rises each day. Try to remember the good times even when things are the darkest & remember to learn everything you can from the darkness. The knowledge you learn at these darkest times will help you grow & make it possible to avoid the darkness in the future.

Remember to always stay open & come from a place of love especially when things look their darkest. Through your commitment to loving others even when you need love the most you will find the sun again.

Until tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "Even when life seems to be it's darkest, love will help you find the way to the light."

My latest video blog is now posted here, take a look at it & let me know your thoughts.


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The 4 letter word....

I've written a lot over the past 6 months about love. I truly believe that love will change the world & that each of us can find more love in our life by first loving ourselves. The word I haven't brought up before, mostly because it's the worst 4 letter word I know is: hate!

So often we discuss the power of our thoughts. These thoughts can manifest anything that we truly set them onto. But, we forget in our daily life that a byproduct of thought is words and I believe words are also very powerful. To many of us use the word hate for so many things in our life. I hate that TV commercial, I hate the cold weather, etc., etc.

The word hate & the meaning of hate is spewed out all over TV. We should hate this person for doing "that". We should hate that group because they are radicals. All of this hate adds up to less love in our lives. I rarely use the word at all. As I described above I think it's the worst 4 letter word I know because it's the opposite of everything I believe. For most of us though we use it as a throw away. It's one of the first words out of our mouths. We hold the word love back because we're afraid of being hurt by letting someone know that we love them but we use the word hate all the time.

Love is the answer to everything in our life. This doesn't mean that there won't be times that you're hurt because of love. But the amount of love you'll receive in your life by opening up and loving more, far out weighs any hurt you'll discover on the path to more love.

Let's agree today to stop using the word hate. Leave that word for the worst in people; use it only when it's absolutely necessary. By taking this small step you will reduce the hate in the world & through this vacuum, you will increase the amount of love in the world.

Till Monday, have a great weekend.

Bill

Quote of the day: "Let go of the casual use of the word hate and by doing this we can increase the love in the world."

PS Several people have asked about the photo under the title of this blog "Journey to Joy". It is a picture I took in the Smokey Mountains this past spring. If you want a copy of it let me know.

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Who Am I?

One of the most difficult questions any of us have to answer is; "Who am I?" that question is usually followed up with "Why am I here?". Many of us spend a lifetime trying to figure out the answers to these questions and some other's of us avoid these questions at all costs. Where do you fall in this spectrum?

For me the journey to get to know myself was a very difficult one. As I mentioned earlier in this blog I didn't like myself to much when I was younger. This was mostly because my Dad made me feel like nothing I could do was good enough. I wrote a wonderful blog about "not feeling good enough". I would recommend you give it a read if you are having this issue (I've moved all my old blogs over here). Once I got past the this feeling of not being good enough, I started to explore who I really was & what was important to me.

This process took me many years & a lot of thought & reflection. The truth is that although I've been writing this blog for almost 6 months now giving you tips to improve your life and all of these tips are things that I've used or had to work my way through in my life. The only way you can truly change your life is to take the time to get to know yourself. There may be things you discover that you don't like about yourself, that's ok. You need to discover these things to move past them. Forgive yourself for the mistakes you've made in your life. Remember the past is the past & you can't change any of it. So, forgive yourself & move beyond the things that you don't like about yourself. By moving past these issues you can begin to discover who you truly are.

In the world today we are always looking for the quick fix. We want the easy way out of everything. Discovering who are isn't something to shortcut. You need to take whatever time it takes to love yourself. Without having the ability to love yourself you can never fully love someone else. We need to have love to give love.

Once you truly know who you are & love yourself even with all your blemishes. You can begin to explore the question of "Why am I here?". This again can be a life long quest & the true answer may never be revealed to you but by taking time to explore this question, you are already on the correct path.

I personally struggle with this question. I know what I feel in my heart but whether I can actually make a living doing it is another large question. Sometimes we have to fill our souls with our true purpose without it being our job. That's ok as long as you find your fulfillment somewhere. For me currently this blog has been a great fulfillment for my soul.

Don't get discouraged, remember that the time you take on yourself is always the most important time you can spend.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "Do you know who you are? Take the time to discover yourself & you will lead a more joyful life."

PS I've posted my latest video blog here. I hope you like it.



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Journey to Joy: Love - Let go of excuses

Winter

As we come upon the winter solstice I think it's a great time to reflect on what the winter means. I've never been a great lover of the winter even though I've lived most of my life in the midwest where the winter can be very hard.

I sit here today in Indiana where we're expecting a snow strom later today. Who knows if it will actually come but right now there's high winds & rain ahead of the expected snow this afternoon. As with everything in my life I try to look beyond what's ahead of me, so today I thought it would be great to talk about the wintertimes in your life.

We all have times in our life where things seem the darkest or the coldest. These times can be very tough for us to get through because we tend to forget about the "spring & summer" times of our lives while we're going through these "dark times.

The thing to remember is that our lives are tied to nature & in nature the winter is a time for renewal. Yes, I said renewal! Everything in nature during the winter is taking a pause to begin again. Every plant & most animals are expending as little energy as possible to be ready to begin their rebirth during the spring. They reflect on what worked best in the past so they can come back even stronger in the spring.

We all have winter times in our lives. Sometimes they come with the actual season & sometimes the come at other times in our lives. Take time during this "dark" time and renew yourself. Remember that winter; as all things in nature will end & the spring will come again. Don't be discourage that the wintertime has come, celebrate the time you have for self reflection & growth. Take the time to grow & be ready for the next spring of your life.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "The wintertimes of your life are times for renewal. Celebrate these dark times & preapre for your next spring!"

My next video blog is now available on Youtube.  I hope you'll take a look I've called it "Love-letting go of excuses"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRBKHjTc6FQ&feature=autoshare_twitter


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Animals

Do you have animals in your life?  A dog,cat,bird,hampster or any other animal?  Animals add so much to our lives & our connection with them goes much further back then any of us can imagine. Man has been connected to animals from the very beginning of time & this connection fills an important part of our heart.  For many of us having an animal in our life is our only connection to nature.  This natural connection is something that you can find great comfort in.

Heidi & I have two Australian Cattle dogs; Sydney who's almost 9 & Adelaide who is between 8 1/2 & 9.  We adopted both of them from local shelters, which I highly recommend.  There are so many animals looking for a good home.

They add so much to our lives; in animals we find compassion & unconditional love.  We are also able to laugh at their odd behaviors. They bring so much joy to our lives.  I believe that there's nothing better then the love from an animal & all they truly want is love in return.

To me this connection with nature is an important part of our true nature.  I believe many of us have lost our connection to nature.  we can find great peace in the quiet of nature & the beauty we find in the outdoors can fill our souls & help us to grow in our lives.

The American Indians believed that if we lost this connection with nature there was truly no reason to live.  They also believed that every animal that enters your life has a message or a reason to be there.  A wonderful book that explains the meaning behind the animals that enter your life is "Animal-Speak" by Ted Andrews.

Reconnect with the animals in your life.  Find the quiet of nature & the pure love of the animals around you.  Through these connections you can find a more joyful life.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "There is nothing in the world like the unconditional love of the animals in your life."

My next video blog is now available on Youtube.  I hope you'll take a look I've called it "Love-letting go of excuses".  http://bit.ly/52wJTw


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Being Flexible

How flexible are you in your life?  Do you adapt well to changes in your plans?  In the past we've talked about change & how many of us fight change tooth & nail.  We do this because the comfort of our "normal" life to a large extend is intoxicating & although it may not be exactly what we want, we know it.  There is a great fear in dealing with change in many peoples lives.  This fear can limit our growth & lock us into a life that really doesn't have much joy.

So how does flexibility help us?  I believe strongly in goals, I personal set goals for many things in my life to help me clarify my intentions & to have something to head towards.  The difference for me is that I remain flexible with my goals because to me, life is about living & enjoying the moment your in.  Enjoying this moment can mean that your goals & intentions change or better yet you feel like they should change.  I think many of us become so rigid that even when something doesn't feel right anymore we continue to pursue it anyway.  We do this often because of our EGO, remember the EGO always wants to be the best.  It always wants the quickest solution & is only satisfied for a moment until it wants more.  So many of us hang onto our goals even if it doesn't feel right anymore simply for the satisfaction of saying "See I did this".

For me what's always worked best is to set these goals firmly after much reflection in all aspects of my life & then to adapt & change them as I go through my life.  There is a caution here, it's easy to become so flexible that you lose sight of what you truly want.  You may have a goal in your life that is fulfilling & something that is your life's mission & the flexibility can actually take you away from that life's purpose.  This happens because things occur in your life & as these things occur we are offered choices for the next step. These steps can leads us further & further away from our life's purpose & sometimes before we know it 20 years have gone by. We look at our life & realize we've never been able to do what we know is our life's mission.

So being flexible is important because it's through adapting that we can find great growth but be careful to always take time to reassess where you are & where you want to be.  If you take this time to connect with your soul & to continue to understand your true life's purpose being flexible will actually lead you closer to where you want to be.  Being rigid will only limit your grow & will take you further away from anything that's important in your life.  Remember that throughout our journey of this life God/universe always gives us signs that we are on the right path & helps us to move towards our life's purpose.  It's up to us to stay connected to our soul & to God/universe, as long as we take the time to stay connected & remain flexible with what God/universe sends us we will find joy in every moment of our lives!

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "Remain flexible in your life & God/universe will conspire with you to create joy in every moment."

My next video blog is now available on Youtube.  I hope you'll take a look I've called it "Love-letting go of excuses". http://bit.ly/52wJTw


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Dealing with Fear

One of the most difficult & complex things we can deal with in our lives is fear.  I wrote previously about dealing with the fear of the unknown.  With that fear it's a battle with yourself of being more open & accepting.  Most of what we imagine is going to happen in our life will never happen, so if we continue to stay open & accepting we will move through most of our imagined fear to a better life.

What about all of our other fears?  What is truly holding you back in your life?  This is more complex. To understand the basis of fear can be difficult & to move past the fears we have can be very hard.  I am not a doctor & I don't pretend to have all the answer on this issue.  I personally have very few fears in my life I've always been able to rationalize my way through anything that would hold me back from achieving a better life. Although for a longtime I was afraid of not being good enough (if your dealing with this look back at the blog I wrote on it).

So what is fear?  Fear is an irrational reaction to an event or a thing in our life.  I say irrational because most fear that is holding us back is something we've created & is based on the fear of the unknown.  What I mean by this is that we create the emotional reaction to something that we perceive as being fearful without really knowing why we should be afraid of it.  Now I'm not talking about life & death situations, in those there is a fear that is very rational & has a true basis in fact.  What I'm talking about is the fears we've created in our lives.  Most of these fears are connected to an emotional event at sometime in our lives.  I have written before about moving through these old emotion connections.  To me fear is the same thing.

We know now that the brain can be rewired no matter how deep the connections are to an event or an emotional response.  So, if this is true, what we need to do is take the time to understand the basis of the fear.  Why are you afraid of dogs?  Maybe when you were 2 years old a dog bit you or barked very loudly in your face.  Then this "fear" was reinforced by your parents saying over & over again..."oh she's afraid of dogs don't bring that dog over here" or they would pull you away every time you got close to dogs.  This is how a fear is created...through this repetition & the way to get past it is to re-pattern the reaction you have.

This is true regardless of the fear, if you can understand the basis of the fear & then re-associate the fear with good things you will rewire your brain & remove the fear from your life.

The bottom line is to live a more joyful/positive life you need to let go of the fears in your life.  You need to open your heart to joy & release the things that are holding you back, including your fears.

Till Monday, I hope you have a great weekend.

Bill

Quote of the day: "Release the fears you have in your life.  Open your heart to the joy you find in each moment."

My next video blog is now available on Youtube.  I hope you'll take a look I've called it "Love-letting go of excuses". http://bit.ly/52wJTw


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Being Tested

I've been asked a lot in recent months about how you stay positive & connected in times of great stress or when you're actually dealing with a crisis in your life.  It's never easy to go through difficult times in your life but there are two important things to always remember.  First, difficult times happen to everyone.  They are part of the natural flow of the universe.  In order for us to know joy we have to know some sorrow in our lives.  The important thing to remember is to always try & learn from your experience.  Sometimes the greatest growth comes through difficult times & in the end you may be a better person because of what you've had to deal with.  I know this first hand as I have been through a great deal of difficult times in my life but I have learned & grown from each situation & it's because of the things I've been through that I'm where I am now. 

The second thing to remember is that no storm last forever.  When you're going through the difficult situation in your life it truly feels like it will never end & things will never get better.  The truth is that it will, at some point things will improve & you'll be able to move on with your life.  It may not be the same life you had before the crisis but life will get better.

So how do I deal with these difficult times?  I wrote a blog about 5 months ago called "dealing with crisis" & I also wrote a blog several months ago about "dealing with fallow times".  Give them a read if you're dealing with a difficult times. 

The most important thing to remember is that the practices you put in place today are going to help you deal with these difficult times.  If you can stay positive & release the stress in your life, even in these difficult times, you will ease the effect of the difficult times on your life.  Remember to stay open to the signs the universe sends you even when times get rough.  

We all tend to close ourselves down when we're going through a difficult time.  It's a natural reaction because we don't feel we have the strength to deal with everything that's happening in our lives.  I suggest, you try to do just the opposite, stay open, take time to reconnect with the love inside of you, reconnect with your soul & rediscover your life's purpose.  Ask for help from God/universe or other people in your life that you trust.  Find the joy in the small things even if this joy only last for a short period of time.  Finally, realize that you are strong & you will make it through.

It's never easy to deal with difficult times in your life.  I hope this blog is able to help you in some way.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "By continuing your daily pratices to bring more joy into your life.  You will be more able to deal with the difficult times in your life."

My next video blog is now available on Youtube.  I hope you'll take a look I've called it "Love-letting go of excuses". http://bit.ly/52wJTw


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Music

Music the most universal connection to our true self.  Yes, it's true music is the easiest way for anyone to connect to their true self.  Yesterday we discussed Inspiration & how important it is to find your true inspiration.  Music is a great way to discover what inspires you.  Beyond that music is a way to get in touch with who you are.

Over the past several months we've talked about many issues that hold us back from discovering more joy in your life.  Many of you have asked me how to move beyond the issues you've had to deal with in your life & I've written many blogs on the various issues & how to let them go to find a more joyful life. Overall, to move beyond any of the issues that are holding you back in your life, you need to understand the underlying emotions that are still connected to  current  things happening  in your life.  What do I mean by this?  If every time someone raises there voice to you, you cower in the corner (or at least in your mind you do).  The way to move beyond this reaction is to understand the emotional connection you have to someone raising their voice.  Once you understand where this feeling comes from you can release the emotional attachment & reconnect that event (someone raising their voice) to different reaction.  The mind is a wonderful thing & it can relearn anything.  If you take the time to reconnect these emotions to a more positive reaction & you work on doing this over & over again.  You will replace the negative reaction with a more positive one.

So what does music have to do with this process.  Music is one of the few things that truly transcends time & space.  When you hear a song that has meaning to you, you are instantly transported to the time & place you first heard it.  In fact many times, without any effort, you can feel exactly the emotions you had at that time.  So, if you allow yourself to feel all the emotional connections in your life you are then able to let go of the emotions that hold you back in your life.

The self discovery that music can help you with can be an amazing journey.  Allow yourself to feel the way the music makes you feel.  Understand what the emotional connection is & through this process rediscover who you truly are.  By letting go of the emotions that are holding you back & rewiring them to a more positive/joyful connection in your daily life, you can have a more joyful life.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "Music can transcend time & space & lead you to true self discovery.  Allow music in your life & discover who you truly are."

My next video blog is now available on Youtube.  The subject of this blog is "Forgiveness".  Take a look:  http://bit.ly/32ZLSU


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Inspiration

I wrote a blog a couple of months ago about motivation & I believe that many people get confused between motivation & inspiration.  To me motivation is an action, you get motivated to do something.  Many people, including me, need motivation to get through the day or motivation to start their day.  Motivation is an important part of everyone's life.

So what is inspiration?  Inspiration to me is the connection to your soul that leads you on to greater things.  Finding inspiration on a daily basis can be a challenge to anyone but in order to move ahead in your life, inspiration is what's needed. 

I've spoken many times in the past about how we all just walk through our lives on a daily basis.  I would go so far to say that many of us are sleep walking through our lives.  What I mean by this is that we are comfortable with where we are at & we're afraid to examine our life to move forward.  This comfort may seem wonderful but it will actually disconnect you from your soul & your true purpose in life.  The best way to continue to grow & stay connected is to push yourself into things beyond your comfort zone.

So how do we find our true inspiration?  I believe this is a difficult question because we all use different tools to motivate us & to find our inspiration.  Many people, including myself, can find inspiration in music, movies or books.  The themes that each of these vehicles present us can be a great way to connect to your heart & even to your soul. But, to truly find a deep meaningful inspiration we need to take these themes and internalize them.  We need to discover their true connection to our soul.  

So how do we do this?  For me, it's by taking the time to examine the way these tools truly make me feel.  I allow myself to experience the emotions attached to the themes I've experienced through listening, watching or reading.  Once I allow myself to feel these emotions I examine where the emotion is coming from & what attachment I have to that emotion.  Many times this involves looking at your past & trying to understand why you feel the way you do.  Once you understand why you feel the way you do, you can begin to understand what theme is truly connected to your soul.  This theme may have a basis in your past but it will lift you up beyond anything else.  This true inspiration can change throughout your life but generally stays within the same area of your life.

Allow yourself to examine your true inspirations & find the deepest connection to your soul.  These inspirations will lift you up to a more joyful life.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "Take time to deeply examine your life & find your true inspiration.  This inspiration will lift your life to a place of true joy!"

My next video blog is now available on Youtube.  The subject of this blog is "Forgiveness".  Take a look:  http://bit.ly/32ZLSU


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Being Grateful II

One of the first blog's I wrote was on being Grateful, to put yourself in an attitude of gratitude will change your life.  Since this is my last blog before Thanksgiving I thought I would revisit that blog.

Start today by creating a daily practice of writing down things to be grateful for.  This practice will shift your thoughts from the negative things in your life to a more positive outlook.  I have also discovered that the feelings that are attached to the things you are grateful for will continue to show up in your life creating a more joyful life going forward.

I challenge you at this special time of the year to begin this practice & to write down daily at least 5 things that you are grateful for.  Feel the feelings of each of these things & remember those feelings as you write down each item.  These feelings of gratitude will create a change in your environment.  I look at it like a stone thrown into a pond each grateful thought creates ripples that spread out throughout the universe creating good thoughts of gratitude throughout the universe.

Everything begins from within & radiates out to the universe in return the God/universe returns the feelings to you over & over again.  So if you're grateful for the great day you had yesterday, God/universe will send back to you more great days.  The important thing is to begin the process & stick to it.  It can be done fairly quickly & the change in your life will be incredible.

Heidi & I are going to one of our favorite places for Thanksgiving.  The Smokey Mountains, I will try to write a blog on Friday but until then I'm not sure about internet access.  I hope you all have a special day with family & friends.  It's doubly special for me as Thanksgiving this year is also my birthday we are grateful to my Mom & Heidi's parents for giving us the money for our birthdays so we could go on this trip.

Hugs,

Bill

Quote of the day: "Give thanks for the great things in your life.  This state of gratitude will bring you more joy everyday."

My next video blog is now available on Youtube.  The subject of this blog is "Forgiveness".  Take a look:  http://bit.ly/32ZLSU


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Good & Evil

Is there good & evil in the world?  The easy answer of this question for most of us is a resounding yes!!  But, looking at this question at a deeper level the answer is no!  How can I possibly say that?  Of course there's evil in the world, right?  I believe there are a few things at work in this question; first of all we go back to the need to label.  It's a great comfort for us to say that this good & that is evil.  We need to know that there is evil in the world because we have something to blame for our misfortunes on.

Once we move past the "Labeling" argument we need to look at our true nature.  What is our true nature?  Remember that each one of us is a divine being created by a divine being, all we truly know is to love & be loved.  I know this sounds hard to believe but truly that's all we know from our true nature.  When we are connected to the divine energy that is our soul we are connected to everything in the universe & we feel love.

So why do "evil"/bad things happen?  The reason why things happen that are terrible is because of the EGO.  I wrote a wonderful blog many months ago about the EGO & I like Dr Wayne Dyer's definition for EGO: Edge Out God.  You see that's where we go wrong.  We look for the instant gratification that satisfies the EGO & we loose the connection to our true nature in the process.

The EGO can never be satisfied it always wants more & unfortunately it will do whatever it has to to get what it wants.  So the people that do the things we consider evil are only misguided divine beings.  As we awaken our true nature the world will move to a place of more love & understanding.  Slowly each one of us will learn to stay connected to our soul & thus to everything.  This connection will change the world.  Love is the answer for everything we need.  Will we eliminate evil when this shift begins to happen?  I think the answer to this is no because there will always be people that look for the quick & easy way to get what they believe they want.  My hope is that these people will become less & less important in the world.

Love is the path to everything you can imagine.  Believe in love & work on staying connected to your soul.  The universe will open up to you & your life will be better then even you can imagine.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "Love is all we need, if we can move to a place of love we can change the world"

My next video blog is now available on Youtube.  The subject of this blog is "Forgiveness".  Take a look:  http://bit.ly/32ZLSU


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