How Can We Find Value In What We Do?

The value of life does not depend upon the place we occupy. It depends upon the way we occupy that place.Thérèse of Lisieux

do

We focus mostly on our ‘place’ in life. I.e. what we’ve earned or achieved in life or in our jobs. In other words we underscore what we’ve done and what we’ve gathered along the way.

be

The ‘way’ we do our job, play our roles as a child, sibling, spouse or parent appears to be more important. The ‘way’ we show up as a human being, as a student, a worker and as a world citizen seems more crucial. Being must come first. Being must come from our core values and from our high ideals. Being must also come from our aspirations and hopes. Then what follows, the doing, will be of even greater value! More here: BeZenDo Revisited!

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM being more than doing!

Recommendation: Art of Being by Erich Fromm

Art of BeingKindle Fire, Full Color 7

Why The ‘Big Picture’ Matters…

Every situation, properly perceived, becomes an opportunity to heal.A Course in Miracles (ACIM)

the small picture

We’re head-deep into maya, or what we may call the ‘small picture’. Our view and experience is extremely circumscribed. We’re boxed in by our culture, our country, our gender, our thoughts (assumptions/biases) and by matter itself.

the big picture

Only by glimpsing the big picture can we hope to feel better about all that goes on in our lives and around the world. That glimpse is more easily caught when we believe in a Creator in whom we have faith. Faith and hope are the vehicles which can bring us peace in the current moment… Once we find that peace then healing (of any sort) can start to take place.

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM hopeful.

Recommendation: A Course in Miracles by Dr. Helen Schucman

A Course in Miracles: Combined VolumeKindle Fire, Full Color 7

The Secret To Happiness…

Happiness is a state of being, and comes from the inside of you. By the law of attraction you must become on the inside what you want on the outside.Rhonda Byrne

inside first

The thought creation must come first! The feeling that would normally accompany the manifestation of that thought must appear alongside the thought. If we want strawberry ice-cream for dessert we must imagine having that ice-cream, complete with the feeling we would experience and the taste of the ice cream on our tongue, the more detail the better! Imagine the exact circumstances, the bowl, the color of the bowl, the ice-cream brand, the sweet cold aroma of fresh ice cream, the spoon used, the time of day, the exact setting etc… Because we’re fellow creators with the Creative Force the Universe is compelled to respond…

the real secret

The real secret isn’t about manifesting what we desire into our lives; even though the Law of Attraction does deliver, it’s about experiencing happiness. So the trick is to imagine the highest, which at one level is happiness. So imagine and feel the happiness and the rest shall follow.

Better still imagine happiness for the whole world! Imagine being an instrument of God that does her will on this planet. When we desire everyone’s happiness we seek the highest for everyone collectively. That then is the highest secret. Seeking God’s will for us as we become his instruments in our daily lives!

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM, and we are, happy!

Recommendation: The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

The SecretKindle Fire, Full Color 7

What Don’t We Understand?

Is it possible that there is something we do not fully understand about ourselves, about our own life and its purpose, the understanding of which would shift our reality and alter our experience for the better, forever?Neale Donald Walsch

more questions!

Here’s the 3rd ‘Persistent’ question that Neale asks us to consider…

life purpose

If we knew what we were here to do wouldn’t that charge our day with passion and enthusiasm? What could be more important than finding out how to best spend our time? On what should we focus our efforts? It is indeed possible to gain much understanding regarding these questions!

Daily Affirmation: Today I search for my purpose!

Recommendation: The Storm Before the Calm by Neale Donald Walsch

The Storm Before the Calm: Book 1 in the Conversations with Humanity SeriesKindle Fire, Full Color 7

How Even Sorrow Is Useful…

…that sorrow makes us all children again, destroys all differences of intellect.Ralph Waldo Emerson

suffering

Suffering is a reality wherever we look. In our collective and individual sorrow lies a gift. What is it? How will we discover it? What will we do with it?

the gift!

A gift is present in all that we experience. We simply have to detach from self and look from a ‘higher’ perspective. Imagine a family that’s suffering because an elderly parent is close to death. If the gift is accepted, the children of that household will come together, be thankful for what they are and what they have. Thankful also for all that their parent made possible. The children bond closer together, united at a difficult time and overlook all differences. What a poetic moment this can become! The whole family is enriched from this experience, it’s a gift that may never stop giving…

Daily Affirmation: Today I accept the gift of sorrow!

Recommendation: Moments in Between by David Kundtz

Moments in Between: The Art of the Quiet MindKindle Fire, Full Color 7

Why We Must Be Thankful!

We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.Fredrich Koenig

happy thanksgiving 2011!

It’s Thanksgiving time in the United States on Thursday November 24th. Such a great reminder for us all to be supremely grateful for all that’s lovely in our lives! We are thankful God for life as we’re living it, help us be of value to others… 

gratitude leads to happiness!

It’s been proven that gratitude leads to happiness. In this one study Dr. Robert Emmons showed “that individuals that wrote down what they were grateful for on a weekly basis were 25% happier, more optimistic about the future, felt better about their lives, and exercised 1.5 hours more per week than those who didn’t record their gratitude.

Another study at Hofstra found that “among teens, gratitude resulted in higher grades, more life satisfaction, better social integration and less envy and depression.

Being grateful results in:

  1. Being healthier
  2. Better relationships with everyone around us
  3. More satisfaction at work

It’s a total Win-Win-Win situation every way we look at it!!

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM grateful!

Recommendation: Even Happier: A Gratitude Journal… by Tal Ben-Shahar

Even Happier: A Gratitude Journal for Daily Joy and Lasting FulfillmentKindle Fire, Full Color 7

How To Be Welcome Anywhere!

It is the individual who is not interested in his fellow men who has the greatest difficulties in life and provides the greatest injury to others.Alfred Adler

indifference

Most of the time we’re only interested in our own life. We ask ‘What can this person give me that I need?’, or ‘what’s in it for me in this situation?’. Because we’re either selfish or indifferent we miss out on Life’s great opportunities. An opportunity to deepen relationships, to truly understand others, to help when someone is desperate for help, or even to improve our own lives…

life principles

4th Dale Carnegie Principle: Be genuinely interested in other people.

Here’s a story written by President Roosevelt’s valet James Amos:

"My wife one time asked the President about a bobwhite. She had never seen one and he described it to her fully. Sometime later, the telephone at our cottage rang. (The Amos’ lived in a cottage on the Roosevelt estate.) My wife answered it and it was Mr. Roosevelt himself. He had called, he said, to tell her that there was a bobwhite outside her window and that if she would look out she might see it."

What a great example of showing genuine interest in another individual! And that’s the key, being genuinely and truly interested in the other individual no matter who they are or whether they can ever be useful to us. This principle is a key that’ll allow us to be welcome everywhere we go!

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM genuinely interested in others!

Recommendation: How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie

How To Win Friends And Influence People, Revised EditionKindle Fire, Full Color 7