Sorry… No Time Off!

As I sit here writing this, it is the last day of the year. Yes, New Year’s Eve Day. What a stunning year it’s been. “Same old, same old” certainly does not apply to this past year. The other day I heard someone say that it was their understanding that our calendar is off by seven years compared to the Mayan calendar. That would mean we have already passed the mysterious and supposedly earth changing Mayan Calendar 2012. YIKES!

Well, I must confess, the only insight I have as to what the next year will bring is this… things will continue to AMAZE us as the new year progresses. And for those of us who are truly “awake,” our days will be filled with constant, total amazement.

There is an underlying theme I have been noticing in many of the books, audios, and live presentations I’ve been experiencing lately. Messengers from all over the metaphysical chart have been telling us, each in their own unique way, that we have the ability to mold and shape our lives any way we want to. This message has many titles, such as – “The Laws of Attraction,” “Manifesting What You Want,” “Creative Visualization,” “The Dream of Heaven,” “Ascending,” “Goal Setting,” and many more.

Many years ago, I either read or heard someone say that as we move along in our spiritual awakening, the teachings become more and more subtle. When I first heard this I remember thinking, “What in the world does that mean?” One of the definitions of the word “subtle” in the Merriam-Webster Online dictionary is  “having or marked by keen insight and ability to penetrate deeply and thoroughly.”

I noticed a subtle but powerful pattern in all of the messages in the books mentioned above. THERE’S NO TIME OFF in this business of creating what you want! NONE, ZERO, ZIP! From an energetic perspective, we are always pulsing out energy. We are never not pulsing out our energy, even while we are sleeping. (Sleep isn’t just a function of resting and repairing the body. Sleep, according to “Conversations With God” by Neale Donald Walsch, is an agreement between our Soul and our body. The Soul often has a difficult time dealing with the restrictions of the body. Sleep is the Soul’s opportunity to go off and play and experience without the limitations of the body.) In other words, there is never a time when we are not alive.

So as we move through the moment-to-moment experience of our day, we determine the quality of the energy we are pulsing out at EVERY moment of our experience. EVERY MOMENT, we are choosing – positive or negative. In the dualistic experience of life in the third dimension, staying in a place of perfect balance of positive and negative is very challenging. The good news is that because others have been able to achieve and experience this balance, that means that all of us can do the same.

Now here’s where this subtle underpinning comes into play when it comes to attracting what you want, manifesting, or goal setting. There are many ways to set an intention, make a pronouncement, make a declaration, or set a goal. Any method will work. In fact, you can have a lot of fun using combinations of methods. But here’s where the rubber meets the road folks. Let’s establish that you have set your goals and thought through your intention. Great! You thought it, wrote it, visualized it, and said it outloud. Wonderful! Doesn’t it FEEL exciting? I mean, if you REALLY get into it, you can see it, smell it, feel it, taste it… yum… YUM!!! Ahhh… okay, now all you have to do is sit back and wait for it to arrive.

Okay, so you’ve done all that, now it’s time to get back to the “regular” world. You know, go to work, deal with coworkers, deal with your family and friends, handle the news, go shopping, clean your house, do the laundry. You know, normal life stuff.”Chopping wood and carrying water” as the Zen Masters like to say.

You’re getting ready for work and you notice that your kid’s room is a MESS and you think, “When is this kid going to get it together?” You’re driving to work and someone won’t let you into the right lane and you think, “Thanks a lot jackass!” Then you boss tells you that the meeting has been bumped up to 9:30 instead of 3:30, so she needs the presentations NOW! And you think, “If these IDIOTS would get their ACT together I wouldn’t have to get squeezed like this. I should be getting the BIG BONUS instead of the VPs for all of my kind, unselfish, loving deeds!”

And on and on it goes… all day long. Each and every moment, we are pulsing energy in a particular direction – positive or negative. If you think that the thoughts you think outside of your meditation or creative thinking and planning time doesn’t have an affect on the direction of your life experience, THINK AGAIN. Remember, there’s NO TIME OFF with this business we call the experience of Life.

So Why Don’t the Methods and Techniques Work All the Time?

I’ve come to the understanding that the reason why all of the various methods of goal setting or manifestation fail at different times for all of us is because of the quality of our thoughts AFTER we do our goal setting or intention setting. Clearly, we are all at different levels of functioning in Life. James Allen wrote about this in “As A Man Thinketh” when he said, “Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of Life. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. Its presence is an indication of ripened experience, and a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.” When we are calm, we become a peace emitting presence.

We all know from experience that when we are upset, our mind can be likened to a lake of burning water. We often think horrible thoughts when we are angry. But just because we don’t express our worst thoughts does not mean that they don’t have their affect. Unfortunately, we are the first recipient of our worst thoughts. This is why the emotional storms of Life often times can completely change the direction of your life. It’s not Karma or God getting back at you for something. It is the fruits of our own thoughts or another’s thoughts that set about directional changes like the first crack of a racked set of pool balls. BAM! And they all go all over the table, bumping and careening into one another. After they all settle to a stop, you have to access the situation and take your best shot from there. Just like the game of Life.

This is an invisible, powerful process that runs in the background of our experience. Even though it runs without our awareness, like gravity, it shapes and colors our Life. “Conversations With God” also reminds us that we have the choice to either live AT THE CAUSE of the affects in our Life, or LIVE AT THE AFFECTS of others in our lives.

Like many things in Life, there is no black and white, hard and fast rule about this. Sometimes it’s a good thing to wait and see how things change. Other times, the best thing to do is boldly state your intention and begin to take action steps to move you towards the experience you desire. The process runs regardless of your awareness. But if you consciously determine your intention and stay focused, positive, and calm, you will create what appears to be magic or miracles in your Life.

Tools For Goal Setting

Here is a brief description of a few goal setting tools I’ve used over the years that have worked for me. I haven’t always achieved every goal I have set. In hind sight, some had to do with a lack of focus and others had to do with changing values or desires. When I was 18 I wanted to drive a 200mph dragster. I didn’t and at the age of 50, it really isn’t something I think I’d like to do now. When I was 25, I thought the life of a rock star would have been pretty cool. Now I know better. When I was 40 (this is beginning to sound like a Frank Sinatra song) I thought being a vice president in a corporation would be a real achievement. It turned out that it’s just not in me to be a corporate animal.

So, your goals will change and that’s perfectly okay. Be flexible with your goal setting but not so much so that you bail out on a goal at the first sign of a challenge. The main difference between a goal and an activity is that a goal should challenge you and be a stretch. If playing lead electric guitar the way that Eric Clapton plays is something that you already are capable of doing, setting a goal to perform in concert is more of a scheduled event rather than a goal. But if singing and playing guitar for people is something you’ve never done but want to, now THAT’S goal.

There’s another more subtle (there’s that word again!) aspect of goal setting that you need to be aware of. For better or worst, we all have a subconscious. There’s no escaping it, as it’s a built in part of the human experience. It’s where our thoughts of doubt and fear come from. If you set a goal that is too grand, your subconscious will start to balk. “Are you NUTS?! You can’t do that, they’ll laugh at you when you start singing. Don’t you remember the time you were a little drunk and played Stairway To Heaven and everyone told you were hurting their ears? You want to go through THAT again DO YA!?”

I’m just having some fun here with my example, but the fact is that there are millions of little voices that tell us “DON’T” if a goal is too big. So when you set your goals, go for a 50% stretch. Let say that you’re now earning $50,000 a year. If you state a goal such as, “I’m going to earn $500,000 this year” although you can have some fun visualizing what you’ll do with that much income, your subconscious will most likely squeak up and tell you why THAT’S NOT POSSIBLE in its attempt to protect you from the pain of failure.

But if you get a goal of earning $75,000 this year, your subconscious is more likely to mumble and grumble and say, “Now hold on there! That’s another $25,000, not exactly chump change… but you know, it’s really not that much in the big scheme of things you know. Let’s see, you could do…” This way your subconscious won’t jump in trying to save you from another painful experience. You could call it, “humoring” your subconscious.

The hardest part is just getting this started. It’s like a huge four-engine jet airliner taking off that needs tremendous energy to get into the air. But once it’s flying, it can safely fly with one engine. Once you get started by being very clear about what you want to achieve or experience, and begin to rack up some forward movement, you can use your own new accomplishment as proof to your subconscious mind that the next stretch is entirely possible. The accomplishment becomes emotional, energetic collateral in your being. You can tell yourself, “Well I handled that stretch, let’s go for another.” And on you go.

Before I get into specific goal setting techniques, I want to cover one more thing. I often hear or read of stories where someone states an objective or a goal and within a very short period of time, the thing shows up in their life with little or no effort on their part. “WOW! That’s AMAZING!” they say. “This stuff REALLY works!” And it can be an amazing thing. But I don’t observe that happening often. Perhaps it’s an everyday happening for those who practice and live at advanced levels of self-mind control. But when it happens to us regular folks, it’s more a matter of coincidence. There’s nothing wrong with that happening either because “coincidence” is the Universe’s way of getting your attention to move you in a higher direction of Life.

When Opportunity Knocks…

The more mundane reality of goal setting is this. When opportunity knocks at your door, it’s usually wearing work clothes. In other words, you have to get busy and get to work. In 1999 I had a goal to have a website to sell my automotive art prints. By the end of the year I had another goal to someday have 5 websites. Now we have 5 websites, an eBay store, and 2 small retail spaces in a local antique co-op of stores. But you know, not one of those websites formed themselves. They just wouldn’t come together on their own. It’s a good thing I wasn’t waiting. The eBay store was just a shell when we first got into it. And the 2 retail spaces were just that, “spaces.” None of these things grew on their own. We did all of the work.

The Preacher and the Farmer Story

This reminds me of a wonderful story I once heard. A preacher was driving through the country on a sunny day and came across a beautiful farm. As he stopped to admire the view of the farm, the farmer came up to the preacher and they began to talk. The preacher said, “My, what a beautiful farm the Lord has blessed you with.” The farmer smiled, nodded, and said, “Yes, the Lord has blessed us with a beautiful farm. But you know, you should have seen this place when he had it all to himself.”

I love that story because it reminds me that most of us are given the raw materials, environment, and a brain to think, create, envision, and experience. “What” we create is up to the quality of our thoughts and visions.

Here are some of my favorite tools for goal setting.

Visualizing & Thinking On Paper

These two skills really do go hand-in -hand. There are many books and tapes on the subject of Creative Visualization. Find one that feels right for you and study it until visualizing becomes a no-brainer. It already is a no-brainer, it’s just that if its hard for you, it’s most likely because it was either disciplined out of you or no one around you nourished it in you. Visualizing is the mental ability to conjuror up pictures or movies about something. If this is a stretch, start by really “looking” at things. Really “look” at shapes, textures, colors, and characteristics of things, so that when you “think” of a new car, or a published book, you can see it in your mind’s eye, or as a movie inside your head.

You’re going to use this “seeing” when you start the question and answer part of goal setting. Zig Zigler used to tell this little story. He said… “ I love archery, and I’m pretty good at it. And if I could spend an afternoon with you, in a short time, I could have you shooting the arrow, real well! And at the end of the afternoon, after you’d been practicing for a time, if I was to put a blindfold on you and spin you around and around, and then told you, “Go ahead, shoot at the target!” After I first duck… you’d say, “Why Zig, how in the world can you expect me to hit a target I can’t see???”

And that’s EXACTLY what Zig is saying. How in the world can I hit a target, that I can not “see” because I haven’t yet envisioned what it is?

Our lives function with an open-ended possibility into the future. We are most definitely shaped by the decisions and choices made in the past that can sometimes limit our experiences and opportunities. I haven’t studied medicine or the prerequisite studies that go before that. I “could” become a doctor, but it’s not likely because I didn’t make decisions in the past that would lead me in that direction. Brian Tracy was fond of saying, “It’s important to put some time into thinking and planning your future, because that is where you are going to spend the rest of your life.” So get good at visualization, it’s really an essential tool.

The technique of thinking on paper is more of a habit than a skill. After all, you’re only sitting there, writing down thoughts and ideas. As long as you are literate, there shouldn’t be too much trouble. Most people resist this because of what their Radio Voice is telling them. FORGET THE RADIO VOICE! It doesn’t mean anything. It wasn’t until I started writing things down that I understood the value of writing things down. Our mind has thoughts that fly around all the time, sometimes at incredible speed. Earl Nightingale used to say, “Ideas are like slippery fish… if you don’t gaff them with the point of a pencil, they’ll get away. “ The palest ink, can sometimes be more effective than the sharpest mind.

The beauty of writing things down is that you no longer have to carry that thought around inside your head. What a waste to carry around in your head a shopping list of goals, when if you have those goals on paper, you can be actively involved in solving the individual tasks of any long term project.

If you feel some resistance to writing things down, do whatever you need to do to get over it, because it is holding you down like an anchor, and you don’t even realize it. There is a curious thing that happens when you start writing things on paper. The process of “writing” is so much slower than “thinking”, that it forces the mind to… slow… down… and the thoughts flow out more completely. Let me explain.

Like most of us, I used to read a book and sometimes wonder how the author knows all that stuff, and is able to explain it to me? “My, what a big brain you must have!” But I began to notice that if I had a bundle of thoughts on a particular subject or understanding, it all seemed to form itself in the process of writing. When I started writing this article, I really only have a vague idea of where I wanted this to go. Once I was in the process, the ideas just began to flow. Had I not started the process, there would not have been any flow. So the real key is to just get started. Even if what you start writing isn’t exactly what you want, just get started. The old saying, “The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step” applies to what we’re talking about here. Just get started writing.

Maybe this resistance comes from how we are taught writing in school. You may have been humiliated in front of the class while trying to read your paper out loud or forced into writing before you had anything to say. Whatever is was, find the root experience and see it from an adult’s perspective. Then talk to that youngster you used to be. “Hey! You were just a kid then, you’re not expected to be a perfect writer, you’re just a kid.!” This is a technique called “Reframing” from NLP, Neuro Linguistic Programming. You go back to an experience, add wisdom from an adult perspective, and you let yourself off the hook. This is best done with a guide or a coach to keep you focused. Wherever that anchor came from about “writing”, route it out and cut it, so that you can start writing.

The Many Levels of Goal Setting

Many years ago, business consultants were teaching clients the value of making “to-do lists.” Lists are great, you’ll be making LOTS of lists as you work your goal setting process. But a list without priorities based on what is valuable to you, can keep you very busy doing things of little importance. In the ‘30s, ‘40s, and ‘50s, to-do lists helped America get a lot done. Remember, any method is better than no method.

When I first stumbled on goal setting in ‘72, it had been taken to the next level by setting goals on everything you want to “be, have, and do.” Then in the mid ‘80s the formula moved up a notch to understanding that we all need to be well-rounded people. So, people were taught to set goals in many areas of their lives, not just their career. We’d been hearing a awful lot about men and a few women who were “workaholics.” It was almost talked about like a disease. But what that did was bring our awareness to the fact that to be a whole person, we need to have goals in many separate areas of our life.

In a course I expereinced from the Dennis Waitley Organization there was an interesting self-test that looked like the one below. The spokes of the wheel were separate “aspects” of a complete “you.” We were to think about each aspect and ask ourselves, “On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the least and 10 being the best) how am I doing in this area?” After you are done asking the question within each aspect, you connect the dots. No one ends up with a perfectly round graphic, There’s no right or wrong, it just shows you where you might be out of balance.

Using the graphic as a tool, you then think about each aspect and ask yourself (actually write this down at the top of your note pad), “Is this important to me, and if so, what can I start to do about it?” As ideas and thoughts bubble up into your awareness… WRITE THEM DOWN… and keep writing down chunks of information from your mind. “This” is using the Mind as an “exquisite master.” As you work through the various aspects, the ideas you are draining out of your thinker and on to the paper, become the new basis of your daily to-do lists.

You can change the topics in the circle. If you do, just make sure they cover a wide variety of areas of living. One of our objectives should be to become a well-rounded person. What good would be career and financial success be if we ignore family and health areas?

If you have sincerely done this, you will feel a surge of enthusiasm that will light you up! Because you are now doing things that REALLY MATTER to you, your day will feel important because you clearly know what you are doing. You are no longer sleepwalking through the day. You have a mission and a purpose. And because you have set your goals in many areas, you’re not becoming myopic… one area of your life doesn’t suffer at the expense of another. People who do this, report that often times for the first time in their life, they feel on track… no longer spinning their wheels.

My latest understanding on Goal Setting now has a spiritual foundation, based on my recent understandings from the “Conversations With God” Series, by Neale Donald Walsch. I consider this, the next level in goal setting and one that works in conjunction with all of the other previous tools. CWG reminds us that the greatest desire of our Soul, is to turn “concept” into “experience.” Our Souls seek to have “beingness” experiences. All of the things we “do”, we do so that we can “be” a certain thing. This is subtle, but very deep, and it may take some time for it to truly sink in…

So, here’s how you apply this to goal setting. With your pen and paper, write at the top of the page, “What beingness experiences would I most like to experience?” It’s important that you write the question at the top of the paper. The reason why is because as you start to work with this question, or any goal setting, or problem solving question… after you are with the question for a time, your mind will begin to wander away from the subject. You may hear a noise that distracts you into thinking about other things. When you begin to notice this, read the question again to bring your focused thoughts back to why your are sitting there in the first place. The “written question” becomes a focusing device, so stay with it. As responses bubble up into your mind, write them down… get the flow going.

Here is the list that popped out of my head when I asked the question: “What is it that I would most like to Be?”

* Creative * Compassionate * Happy *
* Alert * Understanding * Patient * Prosperous *
* Loving * Truthful * Inspirational * Humorous *

Since these are all “Being” qualities, it brings me more in line with my own – on-going spiritual awakening experience. When I was working out my 2001 Goals between Christmas and New Years, I based my categoric goals on my “being” goals and came up with the motivation to complete my book, “it’s Time To Wake Up.” I’d been incubating it for years. Because I had defined my “Being Goals,” my 2001 Goals had a different slant to them… more in alignment with who I am choosing to evolve into.

The Six Weeks A Year Technique

I was on vacation at the Jersey Shore in ‘86 and was on the beach one day. I’d been working as a freelance illustrator for several years, but was feeling a little lost because I felt that I just didn’t have enough time for creative thinking and planning. Then a GREAT idea popped into my head! I decided that when I got home, I was going to clear out an “entire day” from my schedule, take a pad and pen to the park and just “think” all day! You can guess what happened. We went home, I got busy and never had the time to clear out an entire day!

Here’s a wonderful way to get jump started, if this goal setting business has you turned on. I have to credit Earl Nightingale for this one. This one is a real Power Tool.

Let’s get started. Here’s an important question…

Do you think that if you had six weeks each year that were devoted to creative thinking and planning, that you might be able to come up with a few plans that would really add meaning and direction to your life?

Six weeks? Well sure, who wouldn’t. But, who has six weeks a year? Most of us are lucky if we get two weeks a year for vacation!

Well, here’s how you do it. This is NOT easy, but well worth the effort.

If you devoted ONE HOUR every day, Monday thought Friday (you can take the weekends off if you want to) that’s FIVE HOURS per week. Multiply that by 50 weeks (remember, your two weeks vacation now), that totals up to 250 hours per year… that’s just over SIX, FORTY HOUR WORK WEEKS! (250 hours divided by 40 hours {one week}, equals just over SIX, FORTY HOUR WORK WEEKS!!! And all you have to do is devote one hour a day, five days and week, fifty weeks a year. BINGO!

So you say, “Okay, that’s cool, but do you have any idea how busy my life is? Why there’s….” This may be simple, but believe me, it’s hard. I found that morning time was best. I had read somewhere that the first hour of your day can be considered the , “Rudder of the Day.” It sets the course and direction for the day.

What I did was I started setting my alarm clock 10 minutes earlier one day, and let that be my new wake-up time for a few days. Then I set the clock another ten minutes, and so on until I was getting up an hour earlier than I was a few weeks before. So I was getting up around 4:50 and by 5:00 am I was in my family room with some coffee, toast, and my notebook.

An easy trick to stimulating your brain at that hour is to turn on lots of lights. The light will enter your eyes and stimulate your brain so that you won’t be so tempted to nod off to sleep. It’s also important to eat something as well. When you wake up in the morning your blood sugar level is somewhere in the basement. Eating some toast and fruit will also help make you alert.

I had lots of deep, probing questions and various projects that needed to be mapped out, so I always had lots to do. Then around 6:00 AM, I’d get the rest of the family up and running. By the time I was ready to get to my drawing board, I had already been awake and functioning for over three hours. I once read of a famous writer who used to get up every day at 4:00 am and write straight thought to 10:00 am and was done for the day! He said that he got more writing accomplished in those five to six hours than he ever would have had he waited until later. His intention was set, his attention was focused, and the results were obvious.

As I said, this is NOT an easy thing to do, but you may find, as I did, that once you start to enjoy the fruits of spending quality time, “digging in the gold mine between your ears.” you might find yourself as one of the fortunate few who have developed this into a “positive addiction.” You may even find that you look forward to your “personal creative thinking and planning time,” and guard that time because it has become a precious experience.

Goal Books & Goal Maps

Goal Books and Goal Maps can be a lot of fun if you are inclined to arts and crafts kinds of projects. For some people, it adds depth and dimension to what would otherwise be just a dry list of goals. One teacher of mine said that if you are going to write your goals,
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DON’T do it on the back of an envelope or a scrap of paper, because it will end up having about that much value. But if you really take your time and make a nice Goal Book or Goal Poster, it can get you excited about your goals every time you look at your poster, or read your book. Ideally, you will look at and read your poster or book every morning before you start your day and in the evening before you drop off to sleep.

You do this so that as you move into your day, your subconscious mind will be on the lookout for information and experiences that will connect with your goals.

You can start off by getting a pile of old magazines and going through them looking for words and images that are connected to whatever your goals happen to be. If a red Corvette convertible is a goal, get a picture for your poster or book. Whatever your goals are, look for visuals and words to help get you not only excited about your goal, but also serve as a reminder. There’s no right or wrong, just make it something that you’ll be happy to see every day. That’s right, every day. You want to keep refreshing your goals in your mind every day to keep you on course.

After you are finished with your Goal Book or Map, you’re going to use it as a tool for keeping you focused on your goal. Hey, it was important enough for you to write down and make plans for… you need to look at it every day. If you stay aware as you are making your Book or Map, more ideas are likely to surface because you are FOCUSING your Attention.

Your Goal Book or Map can be a work-in-progress, but if you are going to use this technique you need to do the follow-up effort of working and using these tools. The last thing you want to do is make a Goal Book or Goal Map, put it on a shelf or in the closet, and not look at it for months. If you do that, it will most likely just postpone the achievement of your goals because you haven’t given them daily attention.

When I first started making Goal Books I would look at my book every morning in my creative thinking and planning quiet time. I would simply sit down and review the pages, look at the pictures, read whatever caught my eye, and get on with it. This would take, maybe three to five minutes. It helped remind me of why I’d be doing certain things during the day and why it was important. Then, in the evening, I’d look the book over again so that the thoughts and images would be some of the last things in my thinking before I dropped off to sleep. It’s WAY BETTER than watching the news. Unless you have to, DON’T watch local news before you go to sleep. I’m not advocating putting your head in the sand, but you really don’t need to let news stories be some of the last things that enter your head before you go to sleep. That’s like programming yourself for horror.

Your Goal Book or Goal Map can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish… it’s your Book or Map. My books were made with a 3/4” loose-leaf binder that had clear cover that you could slip in an inspiring picture for the cover. Then inside I found bright colored tab separators for the various categories of goals, and would add pictures, lists, brochures… whatever. A Goal Book or Map can be a real power tool. But like a screw driver, that’s just a metal rod with a flat end and a handle if it’s not being used. So, USE your Goal Book… USE your Goal Map…

What I’m Using Now

I’ve been an avid user of the Day-Timer products since the mid-80s. The Sr. Pocket Day-Timer I use comes with little, blank booklets. I use these little booklets for different kinds of Goals Programs I’m working on. The booklets slip neatly into one of the Day-Timer’s pockets, and since I almost always have my Day-Timer with me, I decided to use this approach rather than my previous loose-leaf binder Goal Books.

One booklet is for my “Goals For The Year.” The first half I have a page for the following category goals; “Freelance”, “Websites”, “Savings”, “House”, “Social”, “Health”, and “Personal & Creative Art Projects.” Then, in the second half, I have a Goal page for each month. Based on the Goal Categories, I map out what I want to accomplish for the month. I look at this almost every day so that I stay on track with what’s important to me. Do I get everything done for the month? Sometimes… sometimes not. But it’s okay as long as I’m taking incremental steps towards something that is important to me.

Here’s a way to really SUPERCHARGE your goal setting. After you have sorted out your goals for the year, take each goal and break it up into quarterly chunks. Look at each goalk and ask yourself, “What do I see for this goal in the next three months?” Then, relax… and “see” the answer in your mind’s eye. Visualize it in the theater of your mind. After you CLEARLY see it, ask yourself another question, “What do I need to do to get there?” Then relax… and “see” the answer in your mind’s eye. As ACTION STEPS form in your mind, WRITE THEM DOWN. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking, “Oh, I’ll remember that.” Just write it down.

After you have written down all of your thoughts, rearrange your tasks in order of what’s doable right away. Look to see what ACTION STEP you can do within the next few days that will get you started. Someone once said, “Within the forward movement… the solution soon appears.”

This year, as I was setting my goals, I filtered them through my latest spiritual understanding about “Beingness” being what it is that my Soul most longs for. This is another one of those subtle aspects of goal setting. If we pull back and ask ourselves WHY we want what we want, the answer always comes back to an expereince of “being.” We want to “be” secure, loving, happy, content, forgiving, patient, and on and on. “Being” objectives are things that can only be experiences in a specific moment of Life. Although it can be connected to material gain, it is not necessairly dependent on having things. While there may be many things that can delight you (such as a new 60-inch plasma tv), you are always at choice to be happy in any given moment.

Perhaps the finest definition of success I ever found was from Earl Nightingale. This was Earl’s definition, but I adopted it for my own, because I’ve never found one finer. Earl said,

“Success, is the progressive realization… of a worthy goal or ideal.”

That’s a beautiful definition because it removes all of the external trappings of what we think success is all about and takes us into the arena of “being.” As long as you are moving forward, taking diligent, progressive steps towards a “worthy” goal, or “ideal,” you are a success.

The over worked, stressed out business man, need not be that way, if he chooses. I’ve worked with people who “got the gold ring” and are about as unhappy as they were before their success. There are also successful people who are very happy, because their business fulfilled a worthy ideal. The size or the status of the goal is irrelevant to your Soul. If in your heart of hearts you feel that you were born to be a teacher, and you are working your way towards being a teacher, because that’s what you most wanted to do… then… you are a success. If your goal was to have a fine service station where you could provide cheerful, helpful service and products to travelers, and that’s what you most wanted to do… then… you are a success.

The beautiful part is that there’s something unique for everyone to achieve… everyone. You can back into it unconsciously or set your sites and go for it, enjoying every step along the way. And just like that sea captain, even though you won’t be able to “see” your goal until you get there, just keep doing certain things every day, never stopping or quitting… then one day, there will be your port of call. You’ll rest, savor the trip, and begin with a new destination, a new goal.

The Really Cool Part

Here’s what I believe is the coolest part of all is this. If you maintain your spiritual perspective, you will live a very full and meaningful life. And the biggest surprise of all? It NEVER ends… Life is Eternal. So keep setting goals, take action today, not tomorrow, and you will become one of the Awakened ones.

Shine on!

Scott

For a moment, turn your attention from your external world and focus on your inner world. Be as silent as you can for the next 15 seconds.

Now what did you hear? You probably heard a voice inside your head that may have said, “What’s this supposed to be? Oh, another one of those woo-woo things.”

That dialog that you heard is what I call “The Radio Voice.” It’s okay, we all have a Radio Voice inside our heads. It’s been with us for as long as we can remember. Actually, so long a time that we think it is who we are.

I call the voice “The Radio Voice” because it often plays like a radio station. We have commentary, editorials, pop music, talk radio phone-in calls, music jingles, news stories, crime stories, fiction stories, romance stories, commercials, and a lot of ranting and raving. The noise inside our head is a like talk radio station playing all day long inside of our head. The good, the bad, the noble, and the horrible.

This awareness is largely unknown in the western world, however, in the eastern world, they have been aware of this for a long time. In the Far-East they call it “the drunken monkey” because the voice chitter-chatters non-stop like a monkey who’s gotten into the saki bottle!

The funny thing about The Radio Voice is that as soon as someone draws your attention to it, you can’t miss it. Right now, I’m sure you are acutely aware of what I have been describing. Prior to having someone draw your attention to The Radio Voice, it just ran on in the background. All of this noise wouldn’t be so bad, except for the fact that there is a dark aspect at work in there.

The Radio Voice has total access to everything in your subconscious mind. Not good. Consequently, your Radio Voice pulls up a lot of bad, negative feelings, and plays then out as negative self-talk. Like much of the fluff that floats around inside our head, we often say terrible things to ourselves. We say things to ourselves that we wouldn’t put up with for a moment from anyone else. It is the mechanism of low self-esteem that nearly all of us struggle with.

However, The Radio Voice has a noble cause, but its programming is a little off. Some of the negative inner dialog serves as a protective system. The Radio Voice compares current experiences with past unhappy experiences. The actual negative experience aren’t served up, but the bad feeling are. Then The Radio Voice adds commentary such as, “WATCH OUT! This is going to be bad! I’m going to get a raw deal again!” And on and on.

It all boils down to is this. The Radio Voice serves up fear. As Master Yoda said in one of the Star Wars films, “Fear leads to anger. And anger leads to hate, And hate leads to suffering.” Even if we are directing our fear-anger-hate on to someone else, on the way out, it gets on us as well.

But fortunately, everything has a balancing opposite force. Under all of The Radio Voice noise there is The Deep Inner Voice. It is what the Quakers call, “the still, small voice within.” You could call it your spirit, your God-self, your higher self, or the real you. There are many expressions for this quiet voice.

Most of us have only had an occasional awareness of The Deep Inner Voice because our mind and our environment is so filled with distracting noise. Every spiritual tradition has some aspect of silence built into the system. Be it prayer, meditation, or contemplation, the common denominator is silence.

I want to share with you two simple tools that can assist you in turning down the volume of your Radio Voice.

Step 1 is to bring awareness to the voice. Below is a chart of Radio Voice aspects and corresponding Deep Inner Voice qualities. When you are acutely aware of the distinctions between the two voices, then you proceed to Step 2.

RADIO VOICE

* On the surface of your thinking.

* Is nervous and flighty.

* Often induces fear.
(F.E.A.R. – False, Evidence,
Appearing, Real)

* Chatters like a drunken monkey.

* Thoughts fly by at a high speed.

* You react.

* No spiritual component.

* Situation looks confusing.

* May be more in your head.

* Is gross and loud.

* Comes and goes.

* You’re not SURE if it’s right.

* Has lower motives.

* Feels restricting and boxed in.

* Is short term.

* May not serve everybody.

DEEP INNER VOICE

* Comes from a deep place.

* Is relaxing and solid.

* Often induces peace.

* Has a slower rhythm.

* The thoughts permeate.

* You deliberate.

* Feels Spiritual.

* Situation looks clear.

* May seen to be all over.

* Is subtle and quiet.

* Doesn’t leave.

* You KNOW it’s right.

* Has the highest motives.

* Feels expanding and evolving.

* Is long term.

* Is for the highest and best good of all concerned.

Step 2. This is easier said than done. DON’T let The Radio Voice run the show! Why? Because it’s only a VOICE! If the voice is really yelling and you start to feel confused, do a quick check-in to access if the situation is really dangerous. Usually things aren’t, but be prudent and practical.

Once you have a clear awareness, you can say, “Wow, my Radio Voice is really carrying on. Better not over react.” Your awareness of the Radio Voice will get you started in turning down the volume.

Here are a few other simple things you can do to help lower your Radio Voice noise.

1. Limit the amount of TV you expose yourself to. The subliminal messages that are placed in programming and ads are created by very smart people who know what they are doing.

2. Limit the amount of pop music you listen to. Much of the lyrical content is very melodramatic and songs written in minor keys can induce a state of melancholy. Also, pop tunes are notorious for installing “ear worms” – songs that get stuck in your ear.

3. Get comfortable with soft instrumental music or no music at all. Remember the expression, “silence is golden.” The benefit of silence is that it allows you to better hear the Deep Inner Voice.

4. Establish your own form regular of prayer, meditation, or contemplation. These practices allow you to tap into your own Deep Inner Voice.

I love The Radio Voice metaphor because I feel that it accurately describes the inner chatter that all of us live with. Learning how to turn down the volume and eventually controlling our inner dialog can go a very long way towards moving us into a balanced, relaxed state of mind.

Shine on fellow time travelers…

Scott

Note: This essay is inspired by ideas of Tim Piering’s. His  book, “Mastery.” is unfortunately, is no longer in print, but used copies are available on Amazon.com

“Before Enlightenment, there is chopping wood and carrying water. After Enlightenment, there is chopping wood and carrying water.”

What’s going on in the world? What’s going on in my life? If you pull back, you can see that there is the “outer world” that we see played out in the news and through observation. Then there is the “inner world” that we experience through our own perception. The outer world can delight, amuse, frustrate, sadden, and anger us. Often the outer world seems out of our control. Our inner world often seems that way as well, but does it have to be that way? Are there ways of creating inner peace and serenity without selling everything we own, and moving to the mountaintop?

People have been asking these same basic questions for ages. Fortunately, the same answers have been coming through inspired writers and teachers for ages as well. They are so common that they have become platitudes to which we do not pay much attention. Expressions such as; “We become what we think about.” – “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” – “We are all One.” In the face of worldly and inner challenges, these words can seem like sayings in a Hallmark greeting card.

But these are inner spiritual perspectives that when understood, lead you to an “awakened” experience of life. While integrating these understandings is a challenging task, it is not impossible. Actually, it is completely do-able by everyone. How do we know this? It is a matter of understanding; that if someone else has done it, so can you!

You start to see a pattern. We are asleep, then we wake up, then we go back to sleep, and on and on. Once you have awakened and know that you have awakened, this seemingly nonstop going back to sleep can be maddening. Living an awakened life can be the most challenging, yet rewarding thing you will ever do. It is the effort of a lifetime – meaning that you will be doing this for the rest of your life.

That’s the bad news and the challenge. The good news is that there is plenty of help. As individuals most of us have marginal impact on the world stage. Outside political and natural forces can most definitely change our experience of life, and sometimes make us feel helpless. However, “we” are in complete control of our inner life. There’s a Zen saying that states, “If you think so… so. If you think not so… then not so.” (those Zen dudes always have an out-of-the-box way of saying things.)

Never before has it been easier to find resources to awakening. Just stop and consider the fact that as little as 50 years ago, if you wanted to learn the secrets of life, you had to first find a metaphysical bookstore then hunt for the books you wanted. Or even more challenging, you would have to travel far and long to find your teacher on a solitary mountaintop or ashram. Now, all you have to do is visit your local mall and visit one of the national chain booksellers. All of them now have large “new age,” “metaphysical,” or “inspirational” book sections. And if you don’t like to read, many of the best selling conscious living/metaphysical books are now on tape or CD. It couldn’t be much easier.

There is a common misconception that once you have had a mystical experience, that’s it! “TA-DA! I have arrived! I got my mantra, my beads, my charged crystals, and I wear lots of purple. But my boss is a jerk, my kid won’t listen or clean his room, and my car is a junker!” As Ram Dass used to love to say, “How do you stay conscious when the stuff hits the fan? Because it will and you can.” It’s called, “normal life” and for a newly awakening individual, it can slam you right back into snooze-land.

Ah, but there is a bright side to all of this. Once the process of awakening begins, there is no going permanently going back to sleep. “Catnaps” will happen from time to time, but completely going back to sleep is out of the question. Fortunately, when it comes to awakening tools, there’s something for everyone.

What Is Awakening?
What is this elusive state of “awakening?” Being “awake” is always a “right now” thing. It’s is being in the present moment with as much awareness as possible. Reflecting on the past and planning for the future are important, but your “experience” of life is always right here, right now. This understanding came to me in the early ‘80s and is something that I have shared with many people over the years. But an interesting thing often happens. I have observed that “rational, linear thinking,” controls our society. Of course, in a technological society, linear thinking is critical. The Space Program is no place for ambiguity or vagueness. Computer software is right or it’s wrong. There are so many places in our culture where linear thinking has produced spectacular achievements that we tend to look toward those achievement as proof that linear thinking is the best.

However, life has many subtle aspects that are outside of rational, linear thought processes. To a linear thinker, talk of the “Eternal Moment of Now” can sound like nonsense. In discussing this with people, many have said to me, “You mean, live for today and the hell with tomorrow?” This is an excellent example of black and white; you’re with us or against us, polarized thinking. When we think in narrow compartmentalized ways, we are missing the shades of gray that are inherent in all things. This is different from the linear model of thinking. A very powerful way of “being” is to use BOTH ways of thinking. It is believed that people who use both the right and left sides of the brain are very balanced and extremely successful in life. Here is a more creative way of perceiving everyday reality.

You understand that you are in the Eternal Moment of Now, but that you also have previous experiences of what was once a “now” experience. You call this your past. You also have events that you have not yet experienced. You call this your future.

While in your current moment of Now, you reflect on your past…look at it… and examine what happened. Don’t judge, criticize, or condemn… just observe. Try to “see” it as clearly as you can. Notice what was right, what worked, what didn’t work, and what was the quality of the experience. This is “learning” from your past, please do not indulge in judging. Our culture is so habituated to judge, criticize, and condemn (because it “makes sense”) that almost all of us do it unconsciously to others and especially ourselves. I would ask that you simply suspend, for the time being, such indulging.

The next step is to envision your future. Motivational speaker Brian Tracy likes to remind us that it is very important to think about your future because that is where you will be spending the rest of your life. But our culture has us habituated to thinking of the future in fearful ways. You only need to look at our fear-laced entertainment to clearly see how we tend to envision our future.

But despite what rational thinking people might claim, this fear is not a requirement. Always being prepared and having an open mind is a good mental habit. In the Middle East they have an expression, “Trust in Allah, but tie your camel.” Or in western terms, you could say, “Trust in Jesus, but lock your Chevy.” Be mindful of Our Oneness, but keep your eyes and senses open.

If you take the middle ground of neither fearing or anticipating your future, and simply look to see what is possible for your life, you will see more possibilities than you had previously realized. This is an excellent place to ask yourself as you start to stay awake for longer periods of time, “What would be my ideal experience? What would I most like to be?” Envisioning your ideal scene and what you want to “be” are powerful tools for manifesting. This is a relatively new wrinkle in goal setting technologies. Quiet your mind and envision what you would most like to be, and your Higher Self will reveal what you originally intended to do and be. All of the things we “do,” we are doing so that we can have a “beingness” experience. You exercise so that you can “be healthy.” You go to school, learn, do a good job, so that you can “be successful” and “be happy.” You work extra and save your money so that you can “be secure.” You groom yourself and develop your personality to attract a partner so that you can “be happy in a relationship.” This is a pattern that maps over in all areas of our lives. We are always seeking a “beingness” experience.

When you start living an awakened life, you work with your past to see what worked and what didn’t and then project your most desired future into your mind’s eye. You become your ideal, no longer judging yourself. Learning from your past while using a projected possible future as a goal, gives you this positive goal to live your life into.

So, Now What?
What does an awakened life “look” like? From an external view, it may not look like anything unusual. Another Zen expression offers this wisdom, “Before Enlightenment, there is chopping wood and carrying water. After Enlightenment, there is chopping wood and carrying water.” A person living an awakened life may still have all of the challenges, stresses, and troubles as before… but with a difference. She sees challenges as opportunities to show herself what she’s capable of achieving or experiencing. She sees stress as an indicator that she’s taking things too seriously and needs some perspective. She sees problems as opportunities for new learning or to remember solutions forgotten. After a time, it will seem as if there is a new person inside of an existing body. Serenity will have a transforming affect on your inner and outer world.

Have you ever been around someone who is supremely serene, peaceful, and calm? In “As A Man Thinketh” James Allen wrote, “Who does not love a tranquil heart, a sweet-tempered, balanced life? It does not matter whether it rains or shines, or what changes come to those possessing these blessings, for they are always sweet, serene, and calm. They are like shade giving trees in a thirsty land, or a sheltering rock in a storm.”

If you have ever been around someone like that, you know that they are unmistakable. Ken Keyes Jr. was such a person. Many years ago, I had a chance meeting with Ken after one of his talks. At that time, I was not familiar with Ken’s landmark book, “Handbook for Higher Consciousness.” Even though he was wheelchair-bound, Ken filled the room with his love and pure presence. Everyone was getting a contact high just from being close to him. Later I learned that Ken was a supremely peaceful and serene man, despite the fact that he was in a wheelchair and could barely move one of his arms.

Living an Awakened Life is simple, but not easy in the beginning. But like the old joke, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice!”, it does get easier the longer you are actively engaged in the process of awakening. So take heart, and remember that what others have achieved, you can as well.

Namaste…

Scott

Choose To Be A
Peace Emitting Presence
by K. Scott Teeters

Greetings…

Things certainly have gotten tense since 9/11. One of my teachers, Patricia Diane Cota-Robles, has been pointing out for some time now, that as we move closer to the Aquarian Age, the energetic shifting that is going on will cause those who are holding on to the old ways to thrash out, and do everything they can to keep things the way they were. She’s fond of saying, “Hold on, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.” That certainly is an understatement.

Over the last one hundred or so years, there has been a gradual awakening. The enlightenment movement of the late 1800s was put on hold while we fought the Great War, WW I. Then we fell into a massive, world wide depression, “The Great Depression.” Then we fought another world war to stop the despots in Germany and Japan, WW II.

Mean while, time moved on and day-by-day, year-by-year we moved closer to the end of the Pisceian Age, and closer to the Aquarian Age. Once we sort of got secure in the ’60s, the Spiritual Movement began to take hold. What some thought was just another fad, like the fox trot and flappers, grew and grew. The Spiritual Movement in the West that was initiated by the deep, quiet wisdom of the East, changed us profoundly. Many centuries ago, a prophet from the East said, “When the great iron bird flies, the Dharma will come to the West.” Masses of people in the affluent West quickly experienced the realization that while material stuff can be great, it can’t satisfy the inner pull towards a more spiritual life. People began looking inside, intuiting what their Dharma is; what it is that they are uniquely supposed to do with their lives.

The proof of this can be seen in malls all across America. Every major chain book store has a metaphysical, inspirational, new age book section that has been slowly growing over the years. If no one was interested, they wouldn’t be buying, and the stores wouldn’t be selling. It’s as if we are parched with a thirst for a spiritual meaning and understanding in our lives. Who would have imagined just 30 years ago that books like “Conversations With God,” “Celestine Prophecy,” and many others would be on the “New York Time Best Sellers List” for months?

And now we have come to a cross road, as a result of what we all experienced on September 11th. If you watched events unfolding on the TV, you were a witness, and in a sense, a victim. Humanity has dropped the ball before in our history. The fire in the great library in Constantinople cost us dearly. So much knowledge of who we were, what we had done, and where we have been, was lost… gone… disappeared into the mists of legend.

The aftereffects of the WTC Disaster are staggering; not only the loss of lives, but the loss of facilities and resources. As I watch the news, I’m blown away by the rising cost of what just two jet airliners have done. We are talking TRILLIONS here my friends. In our media blitz, sound bite society, we hear the words, millions, billions, trillions bantered around every day. So much so, that the words become just that, “words.” Just to remind you, here’s a breakdown of what those numbers mean.

1,000,000 – 1 MILLION = 1 THOUSAND, THOUSAND
1,000,000,000 – 1 BILLION = 1 THOUSAND, MILLION – or, a MILLION THOUSAND
1,000,000,000,000 – 1 TRILLION = 1 THOUSAND BILLION – or, a MILLION, MILLION

And consider this, we all know how government “estimates” are ALWAYS low! Yes, I know, it’s overwhelming. And it’s awfully tempting to turn away and think, “Well, they’ll figure it out.” Whoever “they” are. Make no mistake my friends, the family of mankind has been dealt a colossal blow. Instead of that money and man power going into things like solving world hunger, rebuilding our aging infrastructure, initiating a replacement for fossil fuels, we’re going to spend it cleaning up the mess made by a handful of those who are refusing the Light.

Personally, I never thought that mankind would be brought to its knees. It was inconceivable to me that something could happen that could have the potential to push us back into the Dark Ages. But I believe in the inherent goodness of humankind. I know that we have the ability to not let that happen. How? Here’s how.

The time has come for those of us who have awakened to LIVE our spiritual understanding. You have come to this message by one of several routes. You either know me, or have taken a Reiki class from me, or have found your way to this website because of your interest in spiritual concerns, or have signed up with one of the online metaphysical directories. In other words, you have at some level “awakened.” Very few of us are spiritually awake all of the time, but we start off with baby steps. We are awake a little bit of the time, and a little more, and a little more, until it becomes a dominant part of who you have become. And that’s a wonderful thing. It’s NOT easy, so congratulations.

Now, here’s an invitation for you. You ARE ready for this. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t have found your way to these words. Begin today, right NOW, to be a PEACE EMITTING PRESENCE, as much as you can. Look, I know you still have issues, concerns, responsibilities, and stuff to work out. But you don’t have to be a fully enlightened, realized being before you can demonstrate your spirituality. You can still be “working on yourself” WHILE being a PEACE EMITTING PRESENCE. Most of us hardly ever consider that.

I connected the dots on this with a little bit of wisdom from Patricia Diane Cota-Robles. Here’s what happens when your are a PEACE EMITTING PRESENCE. When you do this, you are providing those around you an EXPERIENCE of divinity, without words. Isn’t that wonderful? Just stop and think about that for a moment. Conversations With God by Neale Donald Walsch reminds us that our Soul knows and has access to all knowing. But our Soul’s grandest desire is the EXPERIENCE.

Here are two examples that will help you understand this. They are very simple, and I know that you’ll get it. Here we go. You can “know” all about pizza. It’s made of a certain kind of bread dough, a certain kind of tomato gravy, and mozzarella and or parmesan cheese. And you can know how long to bake it and all that, but… the EXPERIENCE of EATING PIZZA!!! Well, now you’re talking!

Second example. You can read all about sex, there are plenty of how-to books about sex and orgasms. But the EXPERIENCE of the closeness of sexual union and orgasm is a whole different thing! The Soul knows all that there is to know, but it’s grandest desire is the EXPERIENCE.

So, when you are INTENTIONALLY being a PEACE EMITTING PRESENCE, you are providing those around you with the EXPERIENCE of Divinity. And what’s that like, how can that affect people? Look back into your own life experience of being in the presence of a very spiritual person. Someone who IS their spirituality. Maybe it was a Native American elder (they’re real powerful). Or a guru (read Ram Dass’ story of what happened when he met Neem Karoli Baba, his Guru). Or a spiritual leader like the Dali Lama or Mother Theresa. Of course, a first hand experience of being around people like that is best, but you can read about people’s experiences to get a sense of what that’s like. Most of the time, people who have the experience of being in the presence of divinity, are forever changed. From an energetic perspective, you can’t help but be changed. Unless of course you are one of the few who is still completely asleep and in the dark.

When you raise your energy and intentionally choose to be a PEACE EMITTING PRESENCE, the energy that you pulse out goes on forever and can touch the hearts of those near and far. Many out there are on the edge. They’ve been rocked to the core by the WTC experience and aren’t sure of which way to go. You can help flip them into the Light by being a PEACE EMITTING PRESENCE. There’s still a lot of anger out there behind a lot of broken hearts. I’m still seeing a lot of that old way of thinking, the “eye for an eye” kind of thinking, the “Kill ‘em all!” mentality.

Consider this little piece of wisdom from Jedi Master Yoda in the last Star Wars movie, “The Phantom Menace.” There is a meeting of the high council of the Jedi concerning young Anakin Skywalker. The Force is very strong in him and Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn wants to take Skywalker as a student. But there are some who are fearful that because of his young age, Skywalker could be seduced by the dark side of the Force. Then Master Yoda says that Skywalker must face his fear. He says, “Fear leads to anger, and anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering…”

Now, let that soak in for a while, and weigh it against your own fear and anger over what happened. God does not want us to suffer. But, we have the gift of Free Will, to think, choose, and do as we please… regardless of the outcome. So, it’s up to us. We don’t need to create horror, in order to have peace and happiness. We only need to know what horror is and the choices that lead to that. Choices, choices, choices… it’s up to us. Don’t count on our leaders. Too many have forgotten how to lead and are only following the old ways. If the old ways worked, we wouldn’t be experiencing things we have been experiencing.

Choose to be a PEACE EMITTING PRESENCE. Choose it! Be it! Neale Donald Walsch has initiated an effort that he is calling “ONE” – Oneness Now Everywhere. You might want to check it out on his website. His address is… http://www.conversationswithgod.org/ The details are right after the main page. If is resonates with you, go for it. If not, do something else. Like…

* Wear a button.
* Put a bumper sticker on your car.
* Pray every day to the God of your understanding .
* Meditate on Peace every day.
* Send your Ki to all those who are hurt and suffering.
* Smile more.
* Smile a lot.
* Be a little more patient.
* Give blood as often as you can.
* Leave a bigger tip at the restaurant.
* Donate to your favorite charity whatever way you can.
* Cut everyone a break in traffic.
* Remember that behind our outer appearance, we are all children.
* Remember that We Are All One.
* Remember that we are all on the same spaceship called Planet Earth, so pickup after yourself, or wherever you see trash.
* Be kind to everyone, even those you don’t particularly like.
* Be kind to animals as well.
* Lead your leaders – Heaven knows they need it.
* And last, but not least, choose to be a PEACE EMITTING PRESENCE.

Now is the time to move your interests in metaphysical and spiritual things into the forefront of your daily life. We are calling on you. You are needed. You can do this. We can do this.

Namaste…

Scott