Simple Intentions

Unconditionally Self-loving: Part 1

2011-05-20T08:48:00.000-05:00

Being unconditionally Self-loving is simply a decision. Practicing unconditional Self love means that, in every moment, you make a choice that:
- Honors the past
- Acknowledges the present
- Respects the future

If at any time you find your Self in a state of Beingness that isn't unconditionally Self-loving, the choices you make should:
- Forgive the past
- Acknowledge the present
- Respect the future

Moment by moment, it gets easier to practice. Over time, you have enough love to sustain your Self in those challenging moments that come along in life. Eventually, you will have enough to share with others without depleting your Self.

Feeling Vulnerable

2011-03-10T06:14:00.004-06:00

Your feelings of vulnerability can be a great asset at any moment.

With them, you can eventually recognize the necessity of change.

In realizing the necessity of change, you recognize the impermanence of all things.

In realizing the impermanence of all things, you recognize the permanence that permeates them...the true nature of What Is, and of Who You Are.

And in that realization,
your feelings of vulnerability are no longer necessary,
and you can let them go.

Namaste...enjoy the day!

My Expression of Gratitude for January 2011

2011-01-30T22:27:00.001-06:00

Again and again, I experience the gifts of the Universe as they are presented to me toward my goal of writing a self-help book this year!
- Two weeks ago I signed up for a contest, with the Grand Prize being a publishing contract and a speaking tour. The contest starts on February 1st...my birthday! I consider it an honor to have the opportunity cross my path, and to be able to present material I'm preparing in competition with such an esteemed group of equally-well-intentioned souls.
- The Holiday Party last night provided one very useful piece of the puzzle: I was given an Apple iPad as a present from the company I'm working for. I realized coming home that this iPad will see my book both before and after it's published!
- Tonight, I sent an email and headshot (my Facebook profile picture) to a company casting for a "social experiment"...needing people with a background in social networking who can either work from home or remotely, and can live for 30-days with a group of people who have a similar profile. If selected, the $$ from the project will go toward funding the time off I need to finish the contest and the manuscript.
- If any of these three individual circumstances somehow does not quite manifest as I intend or hope it would, at the very least this is one fantastic start to 2011!

On top of everything else...I have a new friend, a kindred spirit, who I am looking forward to getting to know better over the course of time!

6D :)

I am profoundly honored, humbled and grateful for everything, everyone and every opportunity that has been presented to me in January 2011. Thank you! And to everyone reading this, please accept my intention and heartfelt wish for you, that your life is enriched with all that you intend to manifest.

Namaste...enjoy the day!

Meditation and the Sedona Method

2011-01-16T10:28:00.001-06:00

I continue to be amazed at how meditation and the Sedona Method enrich my life, especially when they are applied together. The first half of an hour-long sit this morning yielded two written note cards on "The History Society" (a sci-fi book I've been trying to write for over a decade), one card on "6D" (the science-fact behind the aforementioned science-fiction book) and a general sense of place and well being. The last half of the meditation enhanced the "place and well being" part.

I've been practicing meditation on and off most of my adult life. I've dropped away from the practice when the act of "sitting" became more of a chore than an experience -- when the benefits of the meditation were not readily apparent, or when something more pressing on the "outside" took over as more important than was going on "inside". Including Ho'oponopono and the Sedona Method have brought meditation to an entirely different level for me. Meditation allows the mental and emotional "problems" to come to the surface in a safe and nonjudgmental manner; Ho'oponopono and the Sedona Method provide the tools for effectively resolving these "problems". My day is noticeably much different with them than without.

As always, I hope that you find these posts beneficial for you. Namaste...enjoy the day!

Which one hurts less?

2010-10-30T19:04:00.001-05:00

I met someone today who asked me a question that is sending me on a rather profound journey. We were discussing my job at the National Marrow Donor Program (www.bethematch.org) when I was asked if I'm on the donor registry.

"I am," I replied.

"Did it hurt when you donated marrow?" came the next question.

"I've not been called for that opportunity yet," I responded.

"Do you think it's going to hurt?" was the question that followed. I replied that I didn't care, that it's for a good cause and so it didn't matter to me how it would feel.

I thought about that conversation later when I pondered another experience I've not had this lifetime: Giving birth to a child. I was in attendance when both of my children entered the world. Judging from the screaming and squeezing of my hand by their mother during the procedure, I am presuming the experience wasn't pleasant. Similar stories from other moms and dads seem to confirm that bringing life into the world is something that can be somewhat uncomfortable at some point during the process.

I have heard stories from several people while at the NMDP about how rewarding the experience of bone marrow donation was to them. When asked if the procedure hurt, each person gives an answer that basically downplays the discomfort experienced during the process. Whether it was painful or not really didn't seem to matter to them in the end.

Coincidentally, all the stories I have heard thus far have been from males; I've not yet been in attendance when the presenter was female. This lead me down a path of thought that I hadn't explored before, and a question arose in me for which I must have an answer.

After pondering the conversation I had with my new friend today, I decided I'm going to make a point of reaching out to someone who has both given birth to their child and given life to someone else through a bone marrow donation. I decided I really want to know the answer to this question: Which procedure hurts less? I won't ask them how long they waited to be a mom or a donor, or how long each procedure took, or even if they would ever consider doing each one again. I simply want to understand which process was more uncomfortable to them, and it's purely for selfish reasons that I want to know the answer.

I want to understand how it feels to give life its first chance, compared with how it feels to give life another chance.

I've heard from moms how rewarding it was to bring their child into the world and, despite the temporary discomfort during the process, how they would do it all over again. I've heard from the gentlemen bone marrow donors who have met their recipients and their recipient's families. They have expressed the same sentiment and emotion. The glow in their eyes differs little from the glow in a new mom's eyes.

I have donated blood before, and donate blood platelets as often as I think my schedule allows. (Notice the admitted cop out here -- I could donate every week, but seldom make it a point to do it with that level of regularity.) These experiences are unpleasant only in the brief moments that my flesh is pierced: Once in the finger to test my blood, and one in each arm to complete the circuit of drawing out my blood and sending it back minus the platelets. The discomfort is minimal and temporary...a few moments of discomfort, and a few hours out of my week spent in a worthwhile endeavor. I know what this experience feels like, and even though I've never met anyone who has received my donation, I know from the stories posted on the white board in the waiting area that my small contribution of time and organic treasure makes a difference.

But since all experience is by contrast, this one is going to bother me until I understand it and experience it as completely as I can.

"What hurts worse, childbirth or marrow donation?" I Googled this exact question, and could not really find anything that stood out as an answer. As a male, I will never have the opportunity to experience the first one. I may have the opportunity to experience the second, but to do so only means that someone else is in serious trouble and needs my help. They aren't helpless and frail, living safely for nine months and awaiting the process that gives them their first chance at life. They are more likely helpless and frail, living moment by moment in a struggle to survive, awaiting the process that gives them another --perhaps their last -- chance at life.

And if I have that moment of giving someone's life another chance, I'm going to find the woman who told me which one hurt less. Just so I can tell her, "Thank you for sharing both experiences with me. Now I understand."

Namaste.

Grieving right this time

2010-10-19T07:43:00.000-05:00

I grieving again over some recent losses, since I didn't finish the job the first time. I recognized that it wasn't so much the lost of the role as the loss of identity that carried so much pain. I attributed so much of my identity to these roles -- this one's boyfriend, this one's husband, this business's owner -- that when the role was gone, a piece of me felt like it left as well. But it didn't...it was just the role that went away. I see that now, and hope that the rest of the grieving process carries this wicked weight away that I've been carrying for too long.

Shakespeare was right: All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players...

Why I Joined "Be The Match"

2009-06-19T08:18:00.003-05:00

I’ve encountered many people in my first 43 years of life who have battled cancer. My mom was the first; she had more than one while I was growing up. A cousin’s husband out east was the second. The third was the mother of a dear friend from high school; she passed away when he was 16 years old.

In the last few years alone I have known or crossed paths with several people who have succumbed to it. A singer songwriter named Katie Reider, who left behind her partner and children at age 30 after losing her sight in one eye and her ability to sing and perform her music. My daughter’s elementary school teacher (this affected my daughter deeply for quite awhile)…one of my son’s teachers from middle school…a favorite member of the church I used to attend…the list goes on. With each of these people I felt helpless to do anything about their suffering, their illness, or their loss.

I’ve only now come to realize the helplessness I felt was the same feeling I had when my mom was battling cancer: Same circumstances, same emotions…different person each time. Growing up, most of the details about my family members’ health struggles were kept among the adults – I only picked up pieces of conversation here and there. This only added to the feeling of helplessness…and isolation; I felt separate from another who was suffering, and not being permitted to share in the experience. Childhood is all about learning from experiences – I had learned, or become conditioned, into feeling helpless around cancer.

I started working in the IT department for the National Marrow Donor Program – the organization managing the “Be the Match” Registry – in March of this year. I don’t remember what event took place first: Starting the new job, or finding out my cousin is battling cancer. (Not the one whose husband had it when I was younger, but her sister.) I’ve spent a lot of time since in trying to understand the coincidence of it all. During this time I discovered that so few people know about this opportunity, compared to how many people could be helped. One of my supervisors told me that for every one person that the program has helped with facilitating a bone marrow transplant, six were on the waiting list who didn’t yet have a match.

As I pondered and meditated over this whole set of circumstances, I came to another realization. I’ve been blessed with good health most of my life, to the point that I’ve actually felt guilty around others who have not had that experience. (That contributed to part of my feeling of helplessness as well, I’ve come to find.) I’ve donated blood several times, and platelets once, and have never felt any ill effects. I’ve committed on my driver’s license to be an organ donor upon my death: Since I’m still using everything at the moment, this donation is on hold. :-) It finally made sense to me to take all this to the next level.

So now I’ve signed up with the Be The Match Registry at http://www.marrow.org/index.html to be a donor. As I’m not too proud to admit it, I’m going through a financial hardship right now. So I took advantage of their current drive to add donors: Signing up before June 22nd, I’m receiving my tissue-typing kit at no cost to me. I’ve decided that I’ll pay it forward for the next person when I’m back on my feet – they accept donations on their website to support such efforts.

[For the record, I'm not receiving any benefits from anyone at National Marrow Donor Program for sharing this with you. That's not my style. This is simply me feeling compelled to share an insight with you, knowing that someone else in the world feels the same way that I did. That's my understanding of how the Universe operates.]

For all the reasons I’ve have now for signing up in the Registry, the biggest one for me is entirely personal: I feel empowered. I don’t have to feel helpless around cancer any longer. I can do more than empathize or feel compassion for whoever I encounter who is suffering from this life-altering disease. I can actually offer hope for anyone who is waiting for a match now…and anyone in the future who may need that sense of hope. I like being able to do that.

Thank you for allowing me to share this with you. Namaste.

Paying your (karmic) dues

2009-06-18T06:45:00.004-05:00

The last time you pay a karmic debt is the time you fully release its origin. This is the backdrop behind the adage "those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it". Studying history on its surface only makes you an expert in repeating the outcome. Releasing the belief -- thought and emotion -- in back of the event allows you to finally be free from it. Be aware.

Namaste. Enjoy the day!

Why aren't you?

2009-06-16T23:23:00.003-05:00

If you are watching what's going on in your world today,
or in your country today,
or in your neighborhood today,
And if you know how to pray,
or how to release,
or how to ho'oponopono,
And you're not doing any of these things
to help the people you see
and circumstances you witness,
Then I only have one question for you:

Why aren't you?

And if you haven't learned how to pray,
or to release,
or to clean,
Then I only have one question for you:

Why haven't you?

It doesn't matter where you are,
or where the other is,
or who you are,
or who the other is.
There's always something you can do, to act from a place of compassion.

If you can do nothing else:

Learn how to Pray, and then Pray.
Or
Learn how to Release, and then Release.
Or
Learn how to Ho'oponopono, and then Clean.

Now, what are you going to do?

Coming out of the wilderness

2009-06-13T14:21:00.002-05:00

I've been delving deeper into myself, into all the scary places I've been avoiding up to now. The glimpses of light in the forest have been beautiful to behold (continuing the metaphor for a moment), but it hasn't been without its challenges. I did finally understand in all of this, however, what I'm supposed to be; I simply need to fully commit myself to the course that lies ahead. So while I put together the plan and plot the course out of the woods once and for all, I appreciate your patience in my less-than-regular communication.

I hope to make what I send going forward worth your while.

Namaste...enjoy the day!

Polar Plunge for a Good Cause

2009-03-05T22:43:00.026-06:00

Someone I used to work with is stepping out of her comfort zone big-time for her daughter. She is jumping into a frigid Minnesota lake in the dead of winter this Saturday, March 7th, 2009, as a fundraiser for the Special Olympics. When my children were little I did such a grand venture simply for a t-shirt, and mostly to fulfill an ego gratification for bragging rights for the rest of my life. :-) She's doing it for a much more noble cause. I applaud her for that.

I've waited this long to blog about this because I wanted to find out what the Twitter community in general (and internet community at large) were capable of. Here goal is $1,000; as of this writing, she has $525 to go. I would love to see how many people go out to this web page -- http://www.specialolympicsminnesota.org/Polar_Plunge_App.php?step=pledge&action=showwebpage&event_id=9&regid=6180&team_id=928 -- and step up to the hole in the ice with her in spirit by contributing toward her cause. I thought it would be really cool if 525 people around the planet chipped in $1.00 and a little note letting her know that her efforts to do what she can for her daughter are appreciated. Of course, if the Spirit moves you to chip in more, I'm sure it will be welcome!

Wouldn't we all like that kind of encouragement when we're stepping out of our comfort zone for our family?

Please forward this blog entry to anyone you know who would benefit from helping out a mom who is helping out her daughter. Your encouragement is greatly appreciated. As a reader of Simple Intentions, or a follower of @SmplIntentions on Twitter, I thank you from my heart.

Enjoy the day! Namaste

Love is All You Need

2009-03-05T07:10:00.007-06:00

No one and no thing will fill the void you feel within you. You will achieve the goal, acquire the item or the love of another, and will still feel unsettled and unsatisfied. Go within, release what holds the void in place, and allow the Love of the Universe to fill the empty space within. Then go share that Love with others…not to fill any void within them, but to show them what you did and what you found. The best you can do for another is to be a good example.

Enjoy the day! Namaste

Guidelines for the Intention Circle

2009-01-07T08:57:00.007-06:00

This blog entry is intended to provide guidelines for the Intention Circle that Simple Intentions is facilitating. I hesitate to use the word ‘rules’ here; usually that’s such a rigid set of instructions to play under. This is more of an explanation of how the whole process is intended to operate…a framework, if you will. My hope is to keep this as simple as possible. More than likely this will be tweaked over time.

Purpose:
The purpose of this Intention Circle is to give everyone an opportunity to create and allow a miracle in their life, through communion with the Universe (or whatever name you give the concept of a Higher Power) and the people within it who are applying their spiritual practice for their own benefit and the greater good. There is tremendous power in focusing your intention and attention on an outcome. There is even more power when many people focus their intention on the same outcome. And following the Law of Karma, what you put out into the world always comes back to you…multiplied. So this truly becomes a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Your role as requestor:
As you prepare to tweet your request, please keep in mind the following:
- We live in a universe of thoughts and emotions. Everything that has ever been created has first come from a thought and an emotion. Everything.
- You do not need to fully understand the Laws of the Universe in order to work with them in this context. Everyone in the Intention Circle is acting on your behalf to support you in this purpose. Your knowledge and understanding will improve.
- Know that whatever you intend will come to you. Be open to what is happening and trust all is well.
- To the Universe, time is simply another dimension…like physical distance is to us. Thus, “when” a retweet occurs isn’t as important as the fact “that” it occurs. When you tweet your request, know that it will be retweeted to the group as soon as possible. If that doesn’t take place for an hour or two – or even half a day – do not be concerned. If you do not see it within 24 hours of submitting it, however, please send it again. Technology is not perfect, and there’s always the potential of a message getting missed or falling through the cracks.

Send your request in either of two ways:
- As a reply to @SmplIntentions. This will be displayed not only to me but to anyone else who follows you.
- As a direct message: “d SmplIntentions …” Your identity will be kept in confidence, as I will strip away the twitter login before retweeting the request.

Your role in the Intentions Circle:
If you already have a spiritual practice that you use to commune with the Universe, then you’re all set. All you need to do is keep doing what you have been doing, with the introduction of three actions to your practice:
- Spend a few moments every day contemplating the topic of the week. There are 13 topics that become a focus for a few minutes of your daily spiritual practice. One topic is taken each week, from Sunday to Saturday. When the cycle has been completed, we start again with topic #1. This allows everyone – initial participants and newcomers – an opportunity to complete a cycle in a very short period of time (13 weeks = about 3 months). The topics are:

Gratitude
Abundance
Non-judgment / Discernment
Faith
Forgiveness
Communication
Knowledge
Love
Courage
Health
Harmony / Understanding
Unity
Peace

- Spend a few moments every day reading the tweets that come from @SmplIntentions. They will be any of three possible messages:

A reminder of this week’s topic.
A request for a spiritual practice (if anyone asks for such an intention during the previous day.)
A request for a miracle or other intention. (If this volume becomes too large, I will post the requests as a blog entry and tweet that link to you.)

- Spend a few moments every day in your spiritual practice, with the intention of benefiting everyone who asks for an intention. You can pick a specific request that resonates with you, or apply your time for the intentions of everyone on the list. If something resonates with you strongly, may I suggest you ask the Universe why and work on that first before proceeding. Remember, this can be as much a healing process for you as for the other.

As a practice, I will not make recommendations for readings on the topics. There is such a wealth of information available that it seems redundant to do so. Allow yourself to be open to the information that comes to you or, if you choose, seek out materials to read that expand your understanding of the topic of the week.

Having said this, if something happens in my experience that may be useful to the group, I will blog it at simpleintentions.blogspot.com and send out the link. I invite you to do the same as a reply to @SmplIntentions.

If you do not yet have a spiritual practice to apply, I suggest your first action is to make that your first intention, and then commit yourself to following along with us through an entire 13-week course. Following others who are following Simple Intentions is a great way to open yourself up to receiving information on a spiritual practice to follow.

Expressions of Gratitude:
If you feel compelled to offer something in appreciation for receiving the benefits of your request, let me offer the following suggestions:
- Share your experience: Send a reply to @SmplIntentions with any comments you would like to share with people who are set up to watch these replies (see “A Further Suggestion” below).
- Pay it back: Continue following @SmplIntentions with the desire to improve your spiritual practice by benefiting yourself, others and All That Is.
- Pay if forward: Invite others to join @SmplIntentions, sharing with them any benefits or gains you have received from your participation in any role.
- Donate: In the future, there will be a page that you may use to send a donation. Simple Intentions is not a non-profit enterprise, so your donation is not tax deductible. The donation page will not be available for the foreseeable future; the focus right now is benefiting the people who participate with their time and spiritual talents.

A Further Suggestion:
As an option, consider using a tool that will allow you to follow replies to @SmplIntentions. TweetBeep.com is an excellent tool for this purpose. Then you can read messages that are sent to @SmplIntentions. (Note: At the time of this writing, TweetBeep.com is experiencing problems with their server. I will make other suggestions for keyword following as I receive them.)

My role:
My role as facilitator for the group is to make certain the requestor’s message is retweeted to the rest of the group. I will perform this task graciously at least once per day. While I will do my best to stay on top of this responsibility, please note that right now I do have a day job, so this will not always come first in my to-do list.

I will reserve the right to change the text of a request in order to align it with what I understand to be the principles the Universe operate under, for the stated intention of creating a miracle and benefiting All That Is. If a request comes in the form of a negative, I will change it to a positive: Something of the form “Please help me get even with so and so” will likely look like “Someone intends to get in harmony with their adversary”, or something like that.

The Universe’s role:
The Universe was putting together the resources needed to fulfill your request before you had made the decision to ask. Remember, time and space are simply dimensions the Universe operates in. It’s at the moment that you make the decision that the Universe goes to work putting everything in place and sending you on your way. Once your request is made, be mindful of opportunities that present themselves on your path, and always be grateful for whatever comes.

As one who is including a request as part of your spiritual practice, be mindful that you are performing a great and wonderful service not only for yourself and for the requestor, but for the entire Universe as well. What you sow, you will also reap. And what you ask for will be granted unto you as well…multiplied.

Thank you, friends, for your time and attention. As always, I hope you find benefit in these words.

Enjoy the day! Namaste

New Beginnings

2008-12-28T01:42:00.003-06:00

Hello, friends.

It has been just over a year since I posted my last blog entry. I won't begin to explain what has happened in that time...it is in the past, and for much of it I prefer to keep it that way. For the moment, let's just say that it has been a sea change for me that I knew had to come, but would have appreciated it occurring in a different manner.

For one thing, I no longer own my own business as a primary means of income. Currently I'm on a three-month contract-to-hire as a database administrator with a very busy, very growth-oriented company in the Minneapolis / St. Paul metro area. My commute on a good day is an hour one way, which has given me a great deal of time behind the wheel to ponder my life...and to release some of the beliefs, thoughts and feelings that have really bound me up over the years. It's a transition that I've been avoiding for several months, but once I jumped into the new work situation and all of its aspects, it turned out to be not near as bad as I had feared (except for the winter driving, which pretty much doubles my time on the road). Nonetheless, I'm grateful for the employment and look forward to the time ahead with this new employer.

I've also started scribing a serial science fiction story. (My author page on authspot.com is
http://www.authspot.com/writers/NeoSciFiScribe.92867) Chapter 1 took no time at all to type up and put online. In contrast, I've tried 3 times unsuccessfully to write chapter 2 which, in part, is why it remains unpublished two months after chapter 1 went up on the site. I think I've been trying too hard; I can envision what takes place, but have struggled with the words. The storyline is amazing. I've seen glimpses in my mind's eye of various parts of the story...all three stories, actually. The current story is part one of a trilogy, but not a trilogy in the traditional sense. Instead of the stories occurring consecutively, parts two and three actually occur within the timeline of part one. They provide a deeper texture and context to the story that has
already taken place, yet for the most part stand independent of each other and of the overarching story line. Thus, you get a deeper experience in reading all three, but are not completely lost if you read them out of sequence or skip one part altogether. (They will make terrific theater, in my humble opinion.) I just need to make myself available more to scribe the text.

I'm still in the midst of the sea change that is occurring in my life...more on that in the future as it unfolds. Right now, I'm not necessarily writing about THAT part of my future as much as I am about something else that has presented itself. It comes from equal parts revulsion and inspiration that I'm feeling over two separate activities that occurred on the internet recently. The revulsion part is one I'm still working through emotionally and mentally. I suspect it will come to an end someday (a sad ending, in all likelihood), at which time I can either spill my guts on the whole business or let sleeping dogs lie. I'm sure it is contributing overall to the evolution of humanity...but I'm curious if the means justify the end. Right now, it has provided motivation for me to let go of a lot of negativity and ill feelings I didn't realize I had, and to get off my butt and do something that I hope will prove worthwhile to a lot of people.

Now, the inspiration for this post and its successive actions over the next year comes from an entirely different source. Mark Joyner ran an experiment on Twitter and wrote about it on his blog entry dated December 20th, 2008: See http://www.markjoyner.name/logs/ for his entry. The short story of it-- Mark asked anyone who followed his twitters to write "I Love You" back to him and then, later on, asked them to forward these well wishes to 5 people they knew. The feelings of elation generated by these responses were intoxicating for him; I'm not certain how others felt, but I would only expect a similar response for those who contributed to the frenzy of loving proclamations.

So I thought to myself, what would happen if this focus and attention was directed toward an inspired outcome? What, if instead of asking someone to say "I Love You", someone wrote and asked others in the Twitter group to pray or meditate or practice whatever spiritual process they used in response to a petition or request they had? For example, if I asked "Please help
me find a job" to 1,000 people, and they "Retweeted" (Twitter parlance for "forwarded the message along") the message "I am praying for someone who is looking for a job", or "I am practicing Ho'oponopono (or the Sedona Method, or meditation, etc.) for someone who is looking for a job", and I read that response, would that help me in the context of the Laws of the Universe and assist in actually finding a job? And how would that benefit the people who are doing the praying, releasing and meditating?

And, what if during this year of spiritually responding to and for others, there were a larger framework that put context around this activity...say, a different topic to focus on every month? What if time was spent contemplating a particular subject (gratitude, abundance, faith, etc.), and the thoughts and feelings were joined together of the thousands of people around the world who were part of this experience? How much could be accomplished with all this spiritual contemplation?

To put some perspective on this, there is currently a @Prayers account on Twitter. I am one of 247 followers, and the account to date has had 342 postings. Most of the postings are requests for prayers on a variety of issues and concerns. For the most part, the postings have been centered in the Christian faith. I'm envisioning an experience 40 times this in scale, inviting people of all beliefs and spiritual practices. I believe 10,000 people around the world contributing to this endeavor would make a huge difference!

So, I've decided to put myself out there and start the experience rolling. Over the next few days, I will establish an account on Twitter and post in my blog an entry on how to join in on this adventure, and how I anticipate it to manifest -- suggesting a few ground rules, setting expectations, etc. If you have an interest in joining in, please stop back in a few days and have a
look. Please forward this to anyone who you believe would be interested in taking this spiritual journey in 2009...I would be humbled and honored if they joined in.

Thank you, friend, for your time and attention. Thank you for your patience with me as I get back on the task of writing what I know and experience, hoping that it helps you in some small, measurable way.

Enjoy the day! Namaste

My Christmas Prayer to You

2007-12-20T22:57:00.001-06:00

I offer this simple prayer to you in hopes that your days ahead are filled with peace and love. Please pass it on. Enjoy the day...Namaste

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I love you.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry for anything said or done, by me or anyone with whom you and I associate, which has caused you pain or sorrow. I’m sorry for anything that has not been said or done, by me or anyone with whom we associate, that has resulted in your pain or sorrow. I’m sorry for anything that has happened to cause you suffering, for as long as we have been with each other…for as far back in our past as either of us realize.

Please forgive me. Please forgive these moments when your experience of me in your life results in pain and sorrow to you. Please forgive these thoughts and feelings I have, the actions I take as a result of them, and the harsh consequences they bring upon you.

Thank you! Thank you for being You, for being in my life. Thank you the forgiveness you offer me in return for my contrition. Thank you for your petition to the Divine on my behalf, for the purpose of forgiving my thoughts and feelings of fear that result in ill-fated moments between us. Thank you for turning these fearful thoughts and feelings into Love.

I love you!

I'm learning how to blog

2007-12-20T22:08:00.000-06:00

You will note an addition along the right margin of my blog, on my evaluating a course in blogging from the same company that produces Simpleology. I'm doing this for at least two reasons:
- I want to make certain I'm providing the best for you that I possibly can. I know I can write well, but can I blog well? That's what I want to learn.
- I would certainly enjoy making a blog for profit as well as fun. Whether or not it is this blog or another one I write remains to be seen.

In any event, I'm grateful for the opportunity to take the course. I will weigh in on it after I've completed it.

Enjoy the day! Namaste

In the big picture, we all are...

2007-12-18T22:41:00.000-06:00

I've been busy. Not an excuse for failing to write here...I've spent my free time as lavishly as I have ever done, and perhaps not as haphazardly as I used to. It depends on your perspective. In any event, I could have taken the time to write, but until now I've had nothing I could articulate properly that would justify taking time away from anything else.

I've had opportunity to do a lot of soul searching since my last post. I'm travelling more for my work nowadays than I used to, and windshield time is a wonderful way to get in touch with yourself if you leave the radio off. I've realized that the radio is a great way to temporarily dumb down the voices in your head, but overall has little value if you're working toward achieving enlightenment. I'm looking for inspiration more often than I am entertainment or information, and real life encounters provide far more inspiration to me than anything else.

I realized, too, after several comments from friends who read my blog, that I can't simply be another person who contributes to the global dia-blog at an average or below-average level. Your time is far too valuable to be taken for granted, and so is mine. My time spent away from my keyboard is usually spent with my family, and lately during this holiday season, my friends. I do not intend to depart from any lifetime wishing I would have spent more time at the office, or at work, or even writing.

What I choose to write about has to come from my soul and touch yours, or I've wasted both our time.

Having said that, what I'm about to express in terms of gratitude seems morose if taken in the wrong context. Please read straight through before rendering judgment.

I've had encounters recently with a few people who are, at the moment, less fortunate than me. One gentleman told me his story about how he bought a one-way bus ticket from Milwaukee to look up a lady friend here in the Twin Cities. He had no address or phone number for her, only knew that she worked in one of the hospitals in the area. I was sitting in the Crystal Court at the IDS Tower, waiting for my wife and daughter to finish a little shopping, and was engaged in asking this gentleman questions around his predicament: What was the name of the lady-friend (to see if I could Google her for him)? Where is he staying? How is he getting home? What about the apartment and job he left behind? (Basically, I was vetting him for what came next.) I asked him what I could do to help. He thanked me for the time spent talking with him, and asked if I could spare a few dollars to go toward a meal. I did what I felt I could and wished him well. I didn't know at the time why I felt compelled to ask him so many questions, and yet felt good that I did what I thought was the best I could do.

Fast forward to about 2 hours ago. I'm on my way to my hotel for the evening, and miss my exit off the freeway. A few miles down I take the exit I know has a way to get back onto the freeway going the other direction. This is within the Twin Cities metro, on I-394 going into Minneapolis, and invariably some soul is standing at the top of the exit hoping for a handout. I forget this reality until he stares me in the face as I approach the top of the off-ramp. This evening there was a gentleman, probably in his 50s, with long white hair and a beard, and the stub of a cigarette in his mouth. He was not standing with his sign, but sitting on the ground (20 degrees above with a little wind, in case you're wondering about the weather). I dug through my wallet and gave him what I felt I could; he expressed the humble gratitude of someone in his predicament. With two left turns I was back on the highway and he was gone from my experience.

As I left him and turned back down the highway, I was asking the questions to myself this time: Why did I give him such a paltry amount? I could have done a lot more for him...why didn't I? It was only when I got to the hotel that I realized what that encounter was to me: A reality check on my own perception of where I stood in life, right at this moment. In my youth I aspired to be the Good Samaritan; here I was instead checking myself against this gentleman who needed whatever I had much more than I possibly did. By the time I decided to go back and make amends, he had already moved on.

The real kicker is that, as I sit here finishing up this entry, I'm thinking of the last time I had to go down to the bank to borrow some money to keep things going during my business dry spell. All the questions the banker asked me, all the inadequate answers I could only give him at the time, because those were the only answers I thought I had. I didn't blame him...that was his job. Yet it didn't feel any better being on the banker's side of the conversation as it was on the side of the two gentleman I met...in fact, in retrospect, it felt a lot worse afterward. I judged these two individuals based on who they appeared to be right now, not who they could be or who they were. And certainly not on who they are...children of the same Universe I belong to. No one ever aspires to reach the situation they were in, unless they are working themselves up from a far worse one.

What I'm grateful for is not that these poor souls are in the state they are in, but that they crossed my path when I need to meet them most. As I encounter these souls, I usually don't figure it out until after we've parted. I'm happy to say my timing is improving, although I realize I need to work on it. My goal is to get to the point where I never ask why or how, I only ask what I can do to help, and then I do more than is asked.

Because, in the big picture, we all are in the inside what we see and encounter on the outside. And to the extent I can help another soul on their journey, my journey will have been helped as well.

Thank you, dear reader, for your time. Enjoy the day! Namaste

How to Succeed at Life Without Even Trying

2007-10-28T13:13:00.000-05:00

Facing the prospect of working 60-hour weeks for the next month or so, (thanks to the dogged determination of one recruiter whom shall at this point remain nameless, for fear that her workload doubles due to my mentioning her in my blog), I decided to treat myself to a little R&R yesterday by attending the Team Ortho Monster 5K and Monster Half Marathon in Minneapolis as a spectator. Marathon Woman and a few of her running club friends had signed up to run the half and, wearing dresses under the guise of "still running for prom queen", they all managed to PR the race. My daughter ran in her normal sportswear during the 5K timed race and PR'ed as well. Everyone had a lot of fun, and were discussing on the ride home the next dress-up race. My wife and I are considering date night some evening in the dress she wore for the race, since it was not only very practical but looked nice on her as well.

I'm grateful for the series of little actions that conspired to bring me to this event yesterday. I had planned originally for a weekend of toil in my home office, "toil" being the operative word here, as the home office is in such disarray right now that the Post-It Notes that clutter my desk match the rainbow of colors of the leaves outside, and are just as numerous. I wasn't necessarily needing an excuse to beg out of this project, to be certain. The late Friday afternoon call from my recruiter, offering me a short-term opportunity that fit precisely in my current work schedule, made me realize that my workdays will be longer and weekends shorter for the foreseeable future. Faced with that prospect, and realizing my daughter was going to otherwise have a few hours to herself alone at the finish line waiting for my wife and her friends to finish, I decided the office could wait a day in favor of spending some quality time with family and friends. The day was cool and sunny, the costumed runners enjoyable to watch, and the entire morning will be a fun autumm memory to cherish in the years ahead.

Only my daughter had the goal of setting a personal record for the race; the running club prom queens were simply out to have fun. The fact that they PR'ed was icing on the cake to them, and they were all quite pleased and surprised at their times when they came in. As I write this entry, I realize that maybe they hit onto something here. They were busy having so much fun running in their costumes that they apparently reached their usual goal of a personal record without even trying and, indeed, without it even being a goal at the onset. Perhaps the habit of doing the best they could given whatever circumstances were present at the time, served them in this current race almost automatically.

If my daughter hadn't signed up for the race, or the new project hadn't surfaced that I will be starting this week, I would not have been motivated to attend the race, and would have missed out on an enjoyable morning and this little insight into how the universe operates.

So, all in all, I'm grateful for these little nudges from the universe that tell me to get out and relax for awhile, pay attention to what happens, and reflect afterward to gain an insight and clarity. And now, I guess it's back to the Post-It Note raking and office excavating.

Enjoy the day! Namaste

When I Have a Million Dollars...

2007-10-15T14:06:00.000-05:00

In all deference to the group "The Bare Naked Ladies", I've changed the repeating theme of their song to "When I have a million dollars..." and allowed that to dance around in my subconscious for these last few months. The idea here is to think of what I want as if I already have it, a concept every great thinker in every age has ascribed to. I can't say it's done much for my bank account of late, but I have noticed the phrase "million dollars" a whole lot more. It's shown up in a variety of random e-mails from various lists I belong to, been in conversations I've had, etc.

Now, I'm not completely naive to believe a million dollars will just show up out of the ether...I haven't perfected manifestation yet to even come close to this miracle. (Having said that, I still play the lottery with the idea that I need to have that avenue open for receiving the money should it choose that path to follow.) I do realize, however, that in order for me to earn a million dollars for me and my family, I need to provide service to others well in excess of that. The success stories that I've read all indicate this to be true in every possible sense and, as I further realize and understand, the avenue that the money follows in exchange for the service doesn't always follow a straight line. That is to say, it's not either an even trade nor a direct one.

So, how do I go about realizing this goal. First, by visualizing what I would do with the million dollars. This one is easy for me: Help others do the same thing I'm doing. When I have a million dollars and, therefore, the freedom to spend time as I see fit, the best use of my time outside family is in helping others achieve time and money freedom as well.

Next, by setting the receipt of a million dollars as a goal and releasing on it. The Sedona Method has a goals process that I can use for this including, and this is where I'm hung up on now, a process to release on how I feel about goals. (Good thing, too, as I'm aware of a lot of hangups on the topic of goals.)

Third, building a plan to follow and executing it with intention and intuition in pursuit of my goal. This might sound a little mushy here, but I think I've actually got a little of this part figured out. You see, there is another component to this that I recognized a long time ago and haven't really put to action. In order for me to earn any money, I can either trade it for a service that causes the other person in the transaction to lose, or that causes the other person to win. This is the win/lose scenario versus the win/win scenario. Now, if instead of trading a service or idea in exchange for money, I give it away instead with the intention that someone is better served by that idea as a gift, then I would expect whatever money as part of the exchange to come from another source.

Why would I do this? Well, for starters, I've had dozens of ideas over the course of my lifetime that I've never been able to get off the ground, sometimes out of fear of being taken for granted (my dad was noted for partnering up with the wrong people in his ventures, so I have that example in mind), or simply because I don't know the first place to begin. However, if instead of holding onto these ideas I allow them to find the path toward their fulfillment through others, then I could reap the rewards in the enterprises that I do know how to perform.

Thank you again, dear reader, for your time and attention. My moment of gratitude is, once again, in appreciation of your time in reading this post. I hope you find it worthwhile.

Enjoy the day! Namaste

Doubt, faith and my Higher Self

2007-10-09T22:50:00.001-05:00

I came upon the realization this morning that my doubt in my higher self does me in more often than not. I find myself in an interesting quagmire with a variety of clients, obligations and circumstances that, in retrospect, are entirely my own doing. Had I taken everything on simple faith that it was going to work out for the best, keep my head firmly focused on the tasks ahead, life would be so much better now. Instead, I'm struggling and fighting to get stuff done...all because I let my ego get in the way and didn't simply have faith in my higher self / universe / God.

Having said all this, I have faith now that things will work out well despite my previous efforts...or lack of them. If I continue to get myself (ego) out of the way of my progress, I expect miracles to occur. Onward and upward!

Enjoy the day! Namaste

Marathon Woman (Part 2)

2007-10-08T21:04:00.000-05:00

My wife made a personal record (PR) in her marathon yesterday. She had anticipated doing that, but the fact that the course reached a record 86 degrees made the feat something to really be proud of. Along the way she met a lady who she ran and walked with for most of the race. The notable part of this encounter was the fact that Pam was busy praying at the time for God to send her someone to help her get to the finish line. Mary Pat came along at precisely that moment, and stayed with here until about 2 miles from the finish, when she told Pam to go on ahead and get her PR. Mary Pat finished 11 minutes later.

What I'm grateful for about this encounter is two-fold. First, that they both met each other at precisely the moment Pam needed her to cross her path. At mile six she was already struggling with staying in the race, and her running group had already broken ranks, so Pam was pretty much on her own physically as well as emotionally and mentally; Mary Pat seemed to fill this void for her, and together they endured.

The second point of gratitude is the epiphany that came to me this evening while discussing this with my wife. She had related much of the story to me in segments over the last 24 hours, and the last comment was one she was sharing with our daughter about the her belief that God answers prayer. She said she knew that to be true because Mary Pat came by just as she was praying to God for help. I blurted out "What makes you think that you weren't the answer to her prayers as well? After all, that's what the Law of Attraction is all about...like attracts like. You both perhaps needed each other."

Where did this come from, I wondered later to myself. I knew in my mind this is true, of course, and have had a struggle lately trying to figure out what I've been attracting into my life. But I spoke this statement with such conviction that I realized that, deep down inside, I knew this to be true despite my current failures at making it work. Or is it perhaps a possibility that I'm attracting what I'm feeling subconsciously and haven't yet recognized it? At this point, I suspect the latter. So, can I let go of wanting to figure it out? :-)

Enjoy the day! Namaste

Marathon Woman

2007-10-06T23:32:00.000-05:00

I am grateful today, tomorrow and everyday for my wonderful wife of over 15 years, who has put up with more crap from her spouse than any wife really should. I admire her dedication and perserverance toward tasks and goals she sets her mind to. Several years ago, running a marathon was simply a dream for her, and one for which she spent many long hours training in every weather imaginable before that first marathon became a reality. Now, on the eve of her second consecutive Twin Cities Marathon, I salute her. I wish you well, my dear, and trust that I will see you at the finish line close to your goal time and with a satisfied, exhausted smile on your lovely face.

Enjoy the day! Namaste

No Small Wonder

2007-10-06T09:16:00.000-05:00

Of the many subjects I'm fascinated with, the one that has occupied a good deal of my time lately is the Sedona Method. Briefly, the Sedona Method is a way to release emotional and mental baggage trapped in your subconscious mind through past conditioning, habits, outdated beliefs, etc. It's a way of "letting go" of the feelings and wants that actually hold you back from having what you desire in the here and now. Skipping the whole backstory on how I was introduced to the Method, suffice to say that it fell under the same pattern that a variety of good-for-me activities pass through my life: I picked up on it in a moment of strife and struggle, found success in its application, then summarily put it on the shelf and went back to the same old habits when the crisis was over. At the time, I had yet to recognize that the very habits I resumed were the ones that got me to that previous crisis to begin with...I didn't pick up on that until the latest crisis emerged.

I've felt myself under a lot of pressure since the beginning of the year: Financial pressure mostly, with the occasional work and family issues peppered into the mix to keep it interesting. I read through the Sedona Method book once again and ordered and listened to the course CDs. I must say that the second time around it finally clicked for me. I have been since able to get through a fair amount of mental and emotional junk that I've been carrying around for decades and, yes, came to the realization that the latest crisis manifested from the same bad or outmoded habits that brought it about the last time.

As well, stuff from my early childhood had far more impact on me than I realized. For one thing, I had been carrying around this belief that if I gain sympathy from others, then I can get the approval and security to have what I want or need in life. This worked well in childhood, and being somewhat of a sickly kid when I was little, it almost seemed automatic. Too automatic, as it appears, as that belief born of jealousy and quiet despiration in my youth, once it was firmly imbedded in my subconscious, was doing a fine job of screwing up my adult life. Parts of my adolescence and adult life have followed this course, and other times in my life are the other side of the coin: I sometimes am drawn to the types of situations that require I ride in as the knight in shining armor, giving sympathy and aid with a passion to those in distress. You can imagine that these adventures at best wind up with me becoming bored once the original issue is resolved, or frustrated with the situation if it cannot be resolved. At worst, these situations can also become completely out of control and spiral downward in a big and nasty way.

I remember the "Peter Principle" which, in part, states that an employee will rise to the level of their incompetence. (The corollary I came up with in my youth was "Some people have a shorter distance than others"...a bit judgmental of me as I look at it with the wisdom of experience and age, but funny coming from a guy struggling to get attention.) I have a strong hope for me that the Sedona Method is the remedy for my individual experiences of the "Peter Principle". Pulling out the mental stops is certainly a good start, since those things tend to define my level of incompetence. Now I release several times daily, sometimes just because a feeling came up in my conscious awareness, other times when I'm pointedly working through an issue and a new feeling appears.

What I'm grateful for today is the set of circumstances that led me to this point in my life, not a very pleasant one I assure you. (More in another post...this one's too long already.) The whole sympathy notion is a startling revelation to me, to be sure, and one I likely would have never discovered if events and circumstances were different, as I had always saw myself on the other side of that arrangement. I've since seen other layers of emotion and misguided beliefs come forward...that's good, because now they can be let go as well. Had I known four years ago what I know now, I know I wouldn't be where I'm at today. I know that now, so four years into the future has a strong chance of being different than where I'm at today.

Enjoy the day! Namaste

Notes from the Universe

2007-10-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

My wife and I have been subscribers to Audible for the last few months. We downloaded a title recently that was divided into multiple parts, as Pam wanted to listen to it for her book club while she was in her car traveling to and from work. (She can read the book faster than listening to it, but the local library didn't have enough copies for her and another club member, so she opted for CDs and windshield time instead.) However, two CDs in the middle of the set didn't burn properly, becoming repeats of previous sections of the book instead of the chapters they were to have been. I spent all of last evening trying to figure out how to reburn those two CDs.

At the beginning of the evening, while on Audible's website and on hold on the phone with their customer support, I clicked a link that took me to Mike Dooley's audio book "Notes from the Universe: New Perspectives from an Old Friend" and, after googling the title, to his website at www.tut.com. He was in the video "The Secret" and, initially, I wasn't sure what to make of him. His motto seemed almost too simple: "Thoughts become things". Yeah, I got that from all my other studies in metaphysics, etc. Nothing new here...or so I thought. Now, I'm kicking myself (and apologizing both to Mike and the Universe) for the judgment and for, once again, overthinking my life.

"Notes from the Universe" is nothing short of astounding, in my humble opinion. The book set is a compliation of notes e-mail to subscribers since its inception...it's on my list of books to purchase now. I became a subscriber last night, and the note I got today was spot-on to what I needed to hear...which is kinda refreshing, since the only other time that happens with regularity is in church -- my pastor's homilies often speak to me in ways that are really needed at the time they appear. The difference here is that my "Note" is a few minutes in length and is sent to my e-mail box every weekday. So, now I've got all but Saturday covered in the targeted inspirational message area of my life. Maybe I will read all the weekly notes again on Saturday.

I'm grateful that the problem my wife ran into with her audio book CDs resulted in reintroducing me to exactly what I need right now. Now I just need to get those two CDs fixed for her to return the favor.

Enjoy the day! Namaste

My First Post

2007-10-04T14:12:00.000-05:00

I have two intentions for this blog. The first is to express gratitude at least once daily for something in my life. "Good" or "bad" are labels that won't apply in this context. Deepak Chopra, in the audio version of "The Book of Secrets", points out that polarity of experience is in our mind and in how we choose to label the stuff that comes along. Either it is good for us directly, or it brings us to or sets us up for what's good for us indirectly. Recognizing and being grateful for whatever comes along accelerates the process. So if you find my list of "gratitudes" a bit unusual, please consider them in this context.

The second intention for this blog is to pass along useful knowledge to anyone who reads it, such that the return value to me directly or indirectly reaches a predetermined goal I have in mind. Many people I've studied over the years have one ratio or another that is considered a benchmark for this exchange. The Bible mentions a 30-fold, 60-fold or 100-fold return for what is contributed, while modern-day philosophers consider it the other direction: Provide a "use-value" 10, 20 or 100 times greater than the monetary value you ask for. I believe the former falls under tithing, gifting or donation; the latter appears to be when you're attracting money through normal trade. Maybe that's the single difference between the two, if you're asking for a specific value compared to if you're contributing something of a specific value. I hope to understand that better someday; your comments here would be greatly appreciated.

So, what am I grateful for today? Second chances. I've been having an unusually difficult time posting this first message. I've put two or three different ones out here, only to either edit them or delete them and start again. The edits from my most recent attempt were actually lost altogether due to some computer glitch...no matter, I didn't like very much what I typed anyway. So now I feel I've finally got my mind wrapped around what to say, and I'm ready to start the party. I'm grateful for the second chance at making a first impression. :-)

Enjoy the day! Namaste