The morning breeze has something to tell you. Do not go back to sleep… do not go back to sleep… do not go back to sleep. 

RUMI

Have you ever noticed that brief moment of clarity that exists just as you are awakening?

As your subconscious relinquishes control of your mind from an evening of exploration of the unknown, you cross a threshold of awareness in this precise transition. 

Surprisingly, this is one of the most fertile moments of mental acuity because as your freshly awakened mind is taking control back from your subconscious, you have a brief moment of allowing your conscious mind to deliberately position key thoughts for your success in the coming hours.

Some might defray this opportunity with the mindset that they wake up groggy and could not possibly focus on something so important just as they are waking up.

From experience, I would share that if you know the thought that you want to be awakening with, spend a couple minutes consciously thinking that thought through before you go to sleep. Put a suggestion in your mind that you will awaken thinking about this particular topic and repeat this suggestion to yourself a few times, just as you fall into Slumberland. 

I believe you will discover that with this deliberate intention, coupled with the determination to start incorporating this into your life, you will find a direct purpose with definitive results in your direct outcome for having expended this energy.

The morning mind is delivering you energy from your dream world. There is a potency in this magical transition and the window of opportunity appears to be less than a minute, so there must be a deliberate intention to leverage this to your core benefit. 

Does it work? It does for me. Can I verify it? No. When I found this poem from Rumi, whom I admire so much, I did some research into what others have interpreted as the core meaning of what he is expressing. That which I have just shared is a general summation of what I learned from my research. 

Try it a couple times and see what happens. Set a deliberate intention for what you want to see happen the next day, focus on that and fall asleep. Wake up and allow those thoughts to be first thoughts as you awaken… and then go about your day with intention of making those things manifest in your life. Perhaps there is no limit as to what you may accomplish.

Happy Friday!

I don’t trust words, I trust vibes. People can tell you anything, but a vibe tells you everything.

Do you ever get “that feeling” when you are speaking with someone? That feeling can be a complete range of energy across the full spectrum of positive to negative. 

That’s a vibe.

Filmmakers are especially good at creating the appropriate vibe during a movie, as are authors, musicians and any other form of artist. The vibrational energy that something emotes is unmistakeable. Given that our beings are just a massive conglomeration of vibrational energy, it is no wonder that our vibrations are sensitive to those from external sources.

Collectively we encounter countless vibrational forces throughout the day. They come through feelings and emotions, conversations, what we see, what we read, watch, listen or concentrate on. These vibrational packages intercept our internal vibrations in unique ways.

Da Vinci observed that if two pebbles are thrown into still water, each creates concentric rings that emanate from the point of entry into the water. As these waves encounter the waves from the other pebble, they do not flatten out, but rather, briefly intersect and continue in their original course of direction. From this, he reasoned how both sight and hearing work and vastly changed our understanding of the human body.

Given our understanding of wave form dynamics, it would stand to reason that when a different wave form, such as a vibe coming from another person, encounters the waves that are coming from our own being, that the outcome might be similar. There is a brief intersection of the two and then each vibration continues on their own path. 

As a direct result, the resonant frequency of the uncomfortable vibe that has passed through you, leaves you feeling uncomfortable because the wave of that entity has literally passed through your own vibrational field.

Some call it a 6th sense, and perhaps that is exactly what it is. Others just call it intuition. By any name or explanation, there is unquestionably an overall feeling that is cast by others. Finding our own personal sensitivity to such, facilitates our own ability to navigate through life with greater confidence and security.

Next time you are getting the wrong vibe, pay closer attention to why you might feel that you are sensing this and increase your overall internal alert to possible problems ahead.

Happy Thursday!

You are always one decision away from a totally different life.

We make hundreds of decisions every day. Most of them are made on a subconscious level. Others require more focus. Some are critical. And then there is the one single decision that can change everything.

What gives way to making a decision of that magnitude? Sometimes it’s circumstance. Sometimes it’s dire need. Sometimes it is driven by desire and other times by passion.

Regardless of the stimuli, when a decision of magnitude awaits our focus, we are intensely determined that some aspect of our current existence must change.

When we find ourselves at that crossroad, choices that we are facing could not have greater magnitude, nor greater consequence. If we are to accelerate into a future of our own making, we are compelled to face the tough choices. They may not be pleasant, nor easy to reconcile, but when that moment arrives, we have no alternative but to see the circumstances for what they are, intelligently evaluate all of our options, and then be decisive.

Making those tough choices and life are really one of the greater moments that define us. In some cases, they create limitations and in other cases, they open doors to a future that we could not possibly imagine.

In your quest to reconcile yourself to having to make such a decision, you might find strength by giving yourself credit for getting through some of those days in which you were certain you could not go on.

But, what if you have been assigned this mountain in order to prove to others that it can be moved? If you are feeling completely lost and helpless for a solution, may I suggest that the first step to turning everything around is believing in yourself? Because the reality is that you will never know how strong you really are until strong is the only choice you really have.

The truth is your life is not going to change with the same mindset that caused the problems. Let that sink in for a minute.

Rock bottom is the solid foundation from which I rebuilt my life, and discovering your personal worth in such a low space can be one of the most empowering options in life.

You really are only one decision away from completely changing your life. You just have to make it. 

Happy Thursday!

Be kind to the past versions of yourself that didn’t know the things you know now.

How could I have possibly been so stupid??!!

I think all of us have thought that at one time or another. It is almost inevitable if you are out in the world, trying things, attempting things, pushing yourself to do and be more than you currently are. We take leaps of faith. We make assumptions that are invalid. We follow a hunch and in many cases…. We are totally wrong and things implode.

So what?

So when you lose, do not lose the lesson… but even more important, be kind to yourself. Presumably you were doing your best when those decisions were being made. You had options, even if they were limited, you made a choice and even if it did not play out as hoped, you are a different person for the experience. And honestly, that is what matters.

You may have lost the deal, or the relationship, or the opportunity, or the experience, or the award. 

So what?

Life happens. 

If you have substance and determination, then your persistence and your tenacity and your ability to evolve are far more important than any of the other variables that you may be lamenting after such a chapter in life. Even if these qualities do not stand out to you as the options you wished to have as a result of your efforts, they are what you are holding. So at that moment, your cup is either half full or half empty.

If you waste time regretting and feeling shame and disappointment, you are aging yourself needlessly. It is normal to feel the disappointment, and sometimes the despair that comes at chapters like this. But at a certain point, the pity party must end and action towards next progress must begin. 

Surprisingly, I have found that in my darkest chapters of disappointment and regret, the chink in the armor that needs to be found to cure my ill feelings is to awaken into the new reality that has been created post the loss or mistake at hand. When I can recognize that it is time to climb back upon the horse that threw me (metaphorically speaking), then I have found the footing to take the steps to leave the wallowing in pity and self doubt behind me and instead focus on what am I going to do to be stronger and even more on top of my game going forward. 

If you do not take the big risks in life, you are destined to live in mediocrity. That is a choice that works for many, but if you are one who wants to attempt the much bigger things in life, then part of that journey is being kind to whom you once used to be. That is the hero who catapulted you to where you are now, and you are standing on the shoulders of that giant who loved you enough to deliver you to this very moment.

Happy Thursday!

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.

SOPHIA LOREN

A friend who was a new father asked me quietly, “when do you stop being afraid of everything for your child?” I responded, “that’s simple, it goes away on the day you die.”

Being a parent is perhaps the most cathartic chapter of life. There is suddenly an awareness that you are very secondary in your own life, and that your child has automatically risen to the top of your priorities. 

Add more children, and you continue to slide lower on the priority list. It’s just the way it is.

Having never been a mother myself, I can only use conjecture to presume the intense miracle of some living being growing from nothingness to a baby, ready to burst upon the scene. That experience must be among the most (if not, the most) profound experience a human can have.

Charles Stanley perhaps said it best…”Motherhood is a great honor and privilege, yet it is also synonymous with servanthood. Every day women are called upon to selflessly meet the needs of their families. Whether they are awake at night nursing a baby, spending their time and money on less-than-grateful teenagers, or preparing meals, moms continuously put others before themselves.”

Given their sacrifices made on our behalves, they deserve our undying affection.

Wishing all the moms the very happiest of Mothers Days!

Happy Sunday!

The boy who is going to make a great man must not make up his mind merely to overcome a thousand obstacles, but to win in spite of a thousand repulses and defeats.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

Go around it, knock it down or go through it. Those are the options for an obstacle. Anything less is allowing the obstacle to prevent your progress. In some cases, when encountering an obstacle that is clearly not possible to overcome

For those who have an intense desire to prevail, it requires a fortitude and determination that are indomitable. It requires a spirit of persistence that is unyielding. And it requires a mindset that recognizes that life is going to continually impede your path with disappointments, set backs, frustrations, fear, agony of defeat, and anxiety… all so that you are getting prepared for a growth that is genuinely required to achieve whatever you have really set your mind upon.

Theodore Roosevelt was a larger than life human being. He was shot in the chest in Tammany Hall during his last run for President, and the assassin’s bullet lodged in a bible in his breast pocket and did not enter his body. From there, he opted to go with his son into a part of the Amazon jungle that no Caucasian human beings had ever ventured into. The book River of Doubt takes you on that horrific journey in one of the most compelling chronicles of courage and determination that I have ever encountered.

When I found this aphorism, it made me reflect on how this man was stating his truth, and not spewing a philosophy that was not backed up by deep life experience. It is for that reason that this resonated for me.

PBS did a special on his journey. https://www.pbs.org/video/amazon-theodore-roosevelt-urhdgc/

Happy Saturday!

If you don’t fight for what you want, then don’t cry for what you lost.

Is something worth fighting for?

If your answer is no, then perhaps you have yet to discover something of such importance to you that to be denied it would be interminable.

More realistically, we can all start with a basis that our own lives are worth fighting for. We have such a short trip on this beautiful planet, it is almost criminal to waste any of it on living a life that is not what we have dreamed and grown to expect of ourselves. Anything less than that is compromise and warrants our consideration as to why we would be willing to accept such as what is due us in life.

Jumping from primal considerations to more esoteric ones, we would look to values in life that are critical to us. There are countless selections, each with their own definitions, boundaries, and requirements. More likely than not, there are those on this planet who would readily deny us these values for any one of several reasons. That denial leads to our decreasing life experience and would continue to decrease, lest we stand up for what is right, and demand that our lives shine above the shadow that threatens to darken our personal skies.

In the last 6 years, our freedoms have been under ever increasing assault from those with less intelligence, and more collective hive mentality. Collectively, these groups are working to subvert discussion, free thought, intelligent expression and personal life choices. In any one of these scenarios, we are ever increasingly pressured to stand up for that which we believe in, or watch it slowly erode in favor of a massive wave of ignorance, hoping to erase it completely.

The beauty of life is that it is not guaranteed. It requires focus, energy, determination and will power to thrive in the face of uncertainty and moral decay.

So before you are forced to mourn the loss of parts of life that you cherish, stand up for what is right, and take umbrage against those who would deprive you of it.

Happy Tuesday!

Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.

J.K. ROWLING

Are you feeling like life is throwing you curve balls? Do you wonder how you are ever going to pull through?

It all boils down to your mindset. With your focus in the right places, you can (and will) overcome any obstacle in your path.

Rowling’s credentials to make such a statement speak for themselves….

Rowling sought government assistance and got £69 (US$103.50) per week from Social Security; not wanting to burden her recently married sister, she moved to a flat that she characterized as mouse-ridden. She later described her economic status as being “poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless”. Seven years after graduating from university, she saw herself as a failure. The “grinding effects of poverty, coupled with her concern for providing for her daughter as a single parent, caused great hardship”.  Early in the year, Rowling began to experience a deep depression and sought medical help when she contemplated suicide. With nine months of therapy, things gradually improved. She filed for divorce on 10 August 1994 and the divorce was finalized on 26 June 1995.

Rowling wanted to finish the book before enrolling in a teacher training course, fearing she might not be able to finish once she started the course. Secretarial work brought in £15 ($22.50) per week, but she would lose government benefits if she earned more. Rowling began a teacher training course in August 1995 at Moray House School of Education after completing her first  novel. She earned her teaching certificate in July 1996. Rowling later said that writing the first Harry Potter book had saved her life and that her concerns about “love, loss, separation, death … are reflected in the first book”.

Rowling completed Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in June 1995.  Her manuscript was submitted to twelve publishers, all of which rejected it. Barry Cunningham, who ran the children’s literature department at Bloomsbury Publishing, eventually bought it. Although Bloomsbury agreed to publish the book, one of Rowling’s favorite memories was of Cunningham telling her, “You’ll never make any money out of children’s books, Jo.”

Every last aspect of your success comes from one single source. 

Your belief in yourself. 

Regardless of anything that anyone may say or do to convince you otherwise, belief in yourself is omnipowerful and absolutely critical to your success.

Everyone has moments of doubt. I am certain that as she lay in her flat with mice scampering all about, she must have had the most oppressive thoughts of despair and anxiety. There were moments where her faith in everything she had hoped to be must have been completely shaken to the core.

But, at the end of the day, the only reason she is the Queen of Children’s Literature is because she had the nerve to keep at it. Regardless of every last possible setback in her path, she found the courage and determination to press on. In the light of every negative feedback that the world around her gave her, she felt deep within that she was on the right path.

Is this an anomaly? I will let you decide.

But as a life perspective, it is as core a truth as they come.

Happy Saturday!

A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone.

JO GOODWIN

The purpose of knowledge is to expand one’s mind. 

Given the propensity of topics, perspectives and approaches to everything in life, we are surrounded by controversy. But in that controversy lies our freedom, for without conflicting opinion, we are in the rut of life, subject to the opinion of whomever is making the rules.

The truth about Freedom of Speech is that it is very controversial. Ugly at times. Dangerous at others. But without it, life is subject to domination and the end of free will.  True freedom of speech allows for the opportunity for others to come directly out into the open with topics you would never believe, nor wish to hear. And if that sounds horrific to you, what if they were the ones limiting speech and everything that you believe in was forbidden?

Freedom of speech has enabled our country and most of the world to expand our horizons in myriad ways. Our exposure to so many of the things we find fascinating is in actuality, problematic for others on the planet who believe adamantly that we should not be listening, reading, watching, teaching, discussing said topics. If it were up to them, those topics would be off the radar completely.

The press has always been the fourth chamber of our nation’s democracy. When reported factually, the freedom of the press brings us truth and shines a bright spotlight into the dark recesses of our reality that must be viewed and confronted. When opinion poses as factual reporting, the truth is now colored and to the untrained mind, the reality of the world they are living in, changes in material ways.  Without freedom of speech, there is only one truth, and that is the truth as dictated by the entity who controls dissemination of information. With freedom of speech, these opinions substitute in favor of truth, and slowly become a world of facts for those who are not determined to discern the difference between editorial/opinion and reported true factual information.

As the discussion diverges into fiction, the opportunity for this distinction of complete freedom of speech can go to extremes. At this point, fictional material can explore the darkest of topics in the most grim manner, leaving any unexacting audience enraged for having been exposed to such ideas. If that mindset is expanded to nonfictional content, and the opportunity to publish anything that is freely expressed (regardless of factual verification) is enabled, then an audience may readily read content that is blatantly untrue, and stands as a tribute to freedom of speech, no matter the cost.

As we contemplate this most delicate balance of true freedom vs. the expression of ideas that we are hostile towards, we hit that very fine membrane between what we know should be able to be expressed vs. that which we believe should not be expressed, ever.  At some point, there must be a line. There are countless topics that are too horrific to ever be allowed to be published.  So individual nations create laws against the proliferation of such content to curtail access to it from the general public. In our society those topics might be child pornography, human trafficking and similar highly dangerous topics. Yet, you can go on Google and hunt down how to program a specific weapon or bomb and have access to step by step instructions in less than 2 minutes. Another nation may shut down any truth from the outside world, as Russia is attempting to do during this war. Outside opinions may color the opinions of the citizens of that nation and change the course of history. I was in Hong Kong flying to Beijing on the 10th anniversary of Tianamen Square. In Hong Kong, the newspaper headline showed the person standing in front of the tank. In Beijing, there was zero mention of it anywhere.

The truth is sacred, and if, or when you happen upon it, recognize that life is very perceptual and so is truth. We are living in the epic battle for truth this year. With Russia closing its doors on outside discussion of their actions in Ukraine, to Trump’s attorney John Eastman refusing to turn over 37,000 emails to the Jan 6 committee in the House of Representatives.  Truth is being manipulated in the most controversial, technologically confusing processes. When the truth disappears and the line between reality and fiction is so intensely confused, we are subject to a huge disruption on a magnitude humanity has never experienced.

So when you hear of books being taken from a library because of their controversial nature, you may feel positive or negative about this idea, as a direct result of your perceptual reality and because of how you see the world. If books that you believe are valuable are being removed, you are offended, and if books that you believe are dangerous are being removed, you feel relieved.

But for true freedom to exist, a truly great library must contain something that would offend everyone.

Happy Tuesday!

When someone does something wrong, don’t forget all the things they did right.

Have you ever made an error that was genuinely small in the larger scheme of things and discovered that it permanently soured a business or personal relationship?

Do you remember those feelings of intense disappointment, frustration or anger at how everything else that you had done or been for them was instantly erased in the heat of a moment?

I think everyone has had moments like this… a feeling that no matter how hard you tried, no matter to what extent you were willing to venture, in the end, it did not amount to a hill of beans in the mind of the other party.

Conversely, can you remember when you did this to another person?

Those moments are considerably harder to remember. This may, in part, be due to the fact that we have never done this to another person, ever…. OR…. It may be due to the fact that it does not hurt us as much when we opt to behave in this manner when the tables are turned.

Exploring that thought for a moment… does this happen because we are callous, shallow human beings? Perhaps. Or… it may happen because we are quick to make judgments that have lasting permanence and which are just painful or hurtful to the other party, same as when it may have happened to you.

In seeing today’s aphorism, I reflected on some of the times this has happened to me and some of the times, I have behaved equally poorly in making a summary decision about a friendship with another. I do not think either perspective (victim or perpetrator) in my experiences is black or white. In the times I feel victimized, I reflect on how my action made the other party feel and recognize that I motivated their behavior. I may not like it that every good thing I did prior to that moment was instantly being discounted, but if I am honest, I must also own the action I took that gave them cause to feel that way.

Conversely, when I reflect on summary judgments I have made on other relationships that I have allowed to terminate, I must also reflect closely on the variables in their world that gave them cause to do whatever they did that made me wish to let that relationship end.

In both perspectives, the issue is neither black nor white, but in reality, a shade of grey in-between. 

It would be easy to close this out with a summary about always taking the high road, always being forgiving, always looking beyond something to the greater picture, as those are all good conclusions. But sadly, life is not black or white, and sometimes those conclusions are insufficient. Sometimes, the reason they give you to let your relationship end is justifiable cause to sever ties immediately. Sometimes, after reflection, we may surmise that there are or were mitigating circumstances that gave way to this moment, and we might find some deeper compassion with which to view their behavior.

My take away from all of it is to take a deep pause before making any such decision, and most certainly, do not do it in the heat of the moment. Instead, might it not be better to find strength to compartmentalize such a feeling and allow it to just exist within us, across a span of at least a few days, so that we might contemplate such a monumental choice under a variety of frames of mind? If we allow some time and distance to pass, we are more likely to make our decision under wise counsel, even if such counsel is only our own mind. And, in the course of working to become more evolved ourselves, are we not wiser to find time to remember all of the qualities about someone or some entity that you are ready to jettison out of your life, in order that you may give them the same fair consideration that you would hope that they or someone else might extend you, were the tables turned?

Happy Sunday!