“True genius sees with the eyes of a child and thinks with the brain of a genie.”  - Puzant Kevork Thomajan -

We usually think of a genius as the stereotypical mad scientist or someone completely different than what we collectively agree is ‘normal’.  But when you think back to the true geniuses, a lot of them displayed a childlike curiosity and a hyper-active imagination.  

It’s pretty easy to be childlike in our emotional interactions.  Throwing fits and temper tantrums, pouting, needing to get even.  Surely by this time we’ve figured out the inefficiency of those responses.

But keeping that childlike curiosity in the midst of a world that is being explained and dissected down to the subatomic level and out to the edges of the Universe, demands a lot more from us.  We have to remind ourselves that all the new ‘discoveries’ came from someone paying a little closer attention, wondering or imagining something beyond the current experience or observation.  

A child seems to see everything for the first time, even things that are familiar still bring a sense of wonder and examination.  Watch how they juxtapose the traditional use or position for something completely different, just to see what it’s like.  

Once we play with the current perspective, turning it this way and that, we can engage our true genius, our ‘genie’, and let the creative juices flow.  With the confines of current understanding set aside, our imagination can come out to play and the sky is the limit.  And as soon as we get to the sky, we realize that the sky is nothing more than the limit of our previous paradigm.  Now things really begin to open up!

Life is truly wonderful!

“FAITH is the head chemist of the mind. When FAITH is blended with the vibration of thought, the subconscious mind instantly picks up the vibration, translates it into its spiritual equivalent, and transmits it to Infinite Intelligence, as in the case of prayer.”
- Napoleon Hill -

“The only limit of our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”
- Franklin D. Roosevelt -

Doubts.  We all have them at some level.  Even when things are going well, we will eventually come to the edge of our expanded comfort zone and start to wonder.  What’s next?  How will this work out?  Will this good continue?

We must continually be monitoring to determine the most prevalent themes.  Do we doubt the possibility of this actually happening or this actually happening for someone like me?  The key is to figure out if the doubt is a valid questioning of current approach and methods, whether it’s voices from our past or if it’s just based in fear of change of any kind.

In the bigger picture, doubts are just the nagging little things that keep bugging us like the tiny mosquito buzzing in our ear sounding much bigger and threatening than it really is.  Doubts are just negative expectations and each morning we choose which doubts, beliefs and emotions to bring forward into this day.

I’m not talking about bringing along wisdom not to keep beating our head against a wall; I’m talking about fear of all walls.  We address our doubts through inquiry and experimentation.  For until we actually try, everything remains theoretical.

It’s not a matter of whether or not we will have doubts.  If we’re moving away from the status quo in the least little bit, the changes in what’s around us will cause us to question what’s within us.  We must remind ourselves that what is within us is ready to transcend whatever is before us; if we’ve had success with something this big before or not.  Sometimes it helps to vicariously hitch a ride on the success of others who have already been out further on the learning curve.

As we identify and address our doubts today, we free up a lot of energy and attention to redirect into application and experimentation.  The results we get may not be all we imagined, but now we know a little more that we can add to what we already knew.  Now we know that what seemed impossible before was based upon a lack of knowledge and experience.  Now we can appreciate that the promise of tomorrow is realized in the actions of today.

Life is truly wonderful!

“Commitment is that turning point in your life when you seize the moment and convert it into an opportunity to alter your destiny.”
- Denis Waitley -

There is so much to do, so many opportunities coming before us in each moment.  The art of living is discerning which ones will be the most meaningful and be best for us and for those we love.

We can get lost in the plethora of choices, overwhelmed by the infinite nature of Life.  Each choice leads us in a direction and then we get to entertain a whole new set of choices.  It gets exponential without even going out 3 or 4 levels.

At some point we have to choose.  Even not choosing is still making a choice because we are passing up the current set of opportunities.  Some will still be available later, some will be replaced by another set of opportunities.  But at some point we choose a general direction, and then we’re off to the races.

When we commit to a certain thing, we are declaring to ourselves, our subconscious, to those around us that this is who we are, what we’re choosing to express for the next little while.  That is the moment that we move from observing an opportunity, considering a possibility to engaging it and becoming one who does this.

We look back over our life and we can see so many big choices, accompanied by big commitment that made big changes to our path and our current location and our current situation.  But each moment, each choice contributes something to our path, to our current experience, to our eventually destiny.

What we all ultimately discover is that every choice matters, the big ones and the seemingly small ones.  The big ones are just a lot of previous little ones in the same direction.  But there reaches that point where just one more little choice pushes us to the brink.

That is the point where it feels like we need gargantuan effort or a huge commitment.  The truth is that it’s no bigger effort or commitment than we’ve already been giving, but now we see all the progress made from the previous little decisions and how we are poised to really move on.  We are at a precipice and the next little push tilts us over and sends us down the hill.  All the previous effort and commitment built the momentum to this point and now we can let physics help us with the heavy lifting.

The really interesting thing about living is that no matter which hill we’ve climbed, no matter how long we’ve been climbing it, the next little push, so small in comparison to all the previous efforts, can be in a totally new direction, completely altering our destiny.

Remember this as you observe yourself this week.  Where will a little tweak, a slight nudge change your destiny and how excited you feel about who you are and where you’re going?  Just a little nudge changes everything.

Life is truly wonderful!

“Nobody can predict the future. The idea is to have a good grasp of the present.”
- Peter Drucker -

At points of new beginning, we look out at the expanse of time before us and wonder what’s next?  What are the previews of coming attractions?  We will try and predict the future, but that prediction is always biased through the filter of what we currently know and believe possible.  Which is always biased by our personal version of history.  

The future will be the result of our present starting point with a myriad of choices, reactions, external influences, and how much of our past we choose to bring with us.  Even with the most detailed plans and goal setting, the greatest of clear intention, the exact path between here and there will be meandering at best and veering way off course more often than not.  And that is never a bad thing, it keeps the spontaneity and deep curiosity active in our life.  

We know where we’ve been, with both the benefit of time and perspective and the warp of ego’s interpretation.  We dream of where we will be, what could be possible for us, with the fuel of inspiration and expectation.  But it’s how clear we are about where we are that is the fulcrum that provides the greatest leverage so we don’t have to do all the heavy lifting.  

Once we honestly access and accept where we are and what is currently going on, we have firmer footing for our next step.  That’s all we can really engage now anyway.  Yes, we need to have a general idea about where we want to go so that we can feed the inspiration and the expectation and keep on keeping on.  But the final destination is the result of thousands of individual steps.  That’s how you got here and that’s how you’ll get to wherever you go next.

So what is the next step?  Where will you be at the end of this day?  Is that in that general direction you intended?  Check in throughout the day, throughout the year and enjoy and celebrate the progress you’ve made.  Adjust where needed and use the fuel of what you’ve picked up along the way to keep on.  It just keeps on getting better from here.

Life is truly wonderful!

“The talent is in the choices.”
- Robert De Niro -

As we complete this year and move on to the next, we are where we are, individually and collectively, as a result of the choices we’ve made.  Those choices we’ve made over the last year, and longer.  But also the choices we’ve made since waking up this morning.  

No matter how confined and how hopeless the current situation may seem, we didn’t get here overnight.  There were a lot of big and small choices made along the way, combined with previous choices that end up looking something like this.  

That’s not to say that we get up in the morning and scoop up a big steaming pile to put on our platter for the day.  Not all of our choices are conscious or made from a Divine awareness point of view.  There are plenty where we don’t pay all that much attention because we’re distracted with other more pressing issues.  But the collective trend is always moving in one direction or another.  It’s just math.  

Making better choices now is really our only option.  It won’t magically make everything better in an instant, but it will start slowing down and reversing the trend.  

The good news is that we don’t have to spend the next 10 years in a singular direction to correct our course of the last 10 years.  We can quickly compensate for our stab it and steer navigation with just a few solid choices in a new direction. 

As we head in that general direction, so many new choices that are even more fun will start to show up.  Wisely choosing a few of those in the next batch, builds momentum and things start falling into place.   

Again, it doesn’t suddenly change the landscape, it may even make us realize that things are worse than we realized when we were dazed and confused.  But too often we identify our worth, our ability, with our previous choices and our current location.  There is that within us that is greater than anything we’ve known, done or believed up to now.  The talent is reminding ourselves and each other of that Intelligence we are eternally expressing…especially when it seems to be nowhere in sight, obscured by recent choices.  

What really matters is not so much where we’ve been, but where we choose to go from here.  There are so many choices, and no matter how loudly those around you are clamoring for you to hurry up and come on and move already, feel free to take an extra moment to remember some really great choices you’ve already made, remind yourself of that talent that is still available to you, and choose several that really light your fire!

Life is truly wonderful!

“Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; love more and all good things will be yours.”

- Swedish Proverb -

A lot of wisdom in a couple of lines, but then it is staying true to its own advice of talking less and saying more.  Truth that is good throughout the year, but especially now as we celebrate the closing of the year with holidays of sharing.  Great truth for a new start to a new year.

We are always in a balancing act between fear and hope, gathering more or letting go.  It’s an art as much as it is a science.  Too often we only look at the math of the equation and lose sight of the cost of fear, over indulging, complaining, chatting away with no real communication.

The cost of more is not having room to receive greater good.  Too much fear and we lose sight of hope and lose the energy to pursue Life’s possibilities.  Too much food and there is no room for dessert.  Too much complaining and we become unable to celebrate even the smallest good.  Talking just to fill the void means we miss the wisdom softly speaking to us in the silence.

The common thread in all of these is the personal choice of where we are directing our energy.  Not just ‘where’ we are directing it, but also ‘how’ we are directing it.  Consciously or unconsciously?  From a place of ego or from a place of soul?

The answer is in the final statement…love more.  When we express love to whoever and whatever is before us in this moment, we will move from love to clarity and purpose, from indulgence to savoring, from grumble to gratitude, from fear of awkward silence to being present and speaking our heart.

Love more, and then love more…and then love even more.  The good we all desire for ourselves and for those around us will not be something to gain or gather, we will realize and reveal a greater Good that always was here, within us, within all.  Love more and celebrate the Light, Beauty and Joy, our greatest Good of all!

Life is truly wonderful!

“Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture your heart.”

 - Native American Proverb -

As we get close to concluding the holidays, for this time around anyway, be aware of those moments where you fall into the lure of the advertisements and the glamour shots of the products.  So much of that madness is aimed right smack dab at the ego and the temporary reward may be long gone before the first credit card bill arrives in Jan.

There is a lot that catches our eye, but if you think back to the times, the people, the projects that still mean something to you now, it wasn’t your ego eye that was caught, but your open heart.

This season is more about opening ourselves up to bigger ideas and celebrating Good.  The Good we find around us, in those we know and love, the Good we discover and reveal within ourselves.  The funny thing is that the more we look for, the more we find, seems like I’ve heard that somewhere before…

When we find that Good that connects our heart with the hearts of others, then we will reveal an unstoppable energy and focus.  Clarity and purpose that will not be distracted by the next shiny thing to come along.

Open your heart and then you’ll be looking through eyes of Love and those are always the most fashionable glasses that go with any outfit.
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Life is truly wonderful!

“Success or prosperity does not need to be made, it always is. But you, in turn, must change; then your affairs will follow the change.” 
- Raymond Holliwell -

“Success or prosperity does not need to be made, it always is. But you, in turn, must change; then your affairs will follow the change.” – Raymond Holliwell

We are taught that we must go out and pursue success or prosperity, love or greater good.  We are currently experiencing the effects of our previous decisions: good, bad or indifferent.  So all that is now, is the direct result of previous decisions, causes and expectations.  

At first, that information can be overwhelming, causing fear of every thought, emotion and expectation and where it will eventually lead.  But when we hear the second part, we discover the true freedom that was always inherent wherever we are and wherever we may go.  

Becoming aware of how we got here, what we’ve missed along the way IS crucial to improving our personal position and trajectory.  But the promise in the system is that at any time we choose we can quit running hither and yon to get ourselves in the right place and simply realize we have always BEEN in the right place.  

The promise of experiencing greater success or prosperity, finding love, peace, beauty or joy never has been predicated upon a location, belonging to a certain group, or the approval of others.  It is ignited simply by an awareness of the presence of Good and a willingness to engage, with what we know and have, right from where we are.

Life is truly wonderful!

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but rather the lighting of a fire.” 
- Oscar Wilde -

As I think back on all of the great teachers I’ve had and have, music, spiritual, life and everything in between, I know exactly what Mr. Wilde means.  The ones that have meant the most to me didn’t try to tell me how It is as much as inspired me to look and describe It for myself.  They certainly helped in providing language and perspective, but they knew that ultimately, I had to find the words that worked for me, words I could find easily when I needed them without having to dig through files or look for passages in books.  

Too often we go to others, even to our Source to be filled, but the problem with that paradigm is identifying ourselves as empty or without something, deficient in some way.  The Truth is that we have within us all we need to engage and transcend whatever is before us in this moment.  That’s why it’s before us and not someone else.  That’s why it’s here now and not at another time. 

All I usually need is my fire lit, not more dumped upon me to sort out and process.  I’ve accumulated enough of that over the years.  

When a spark of understanding or inspiration is passed, it’s not a loss or gain from one side to another, it’s a recognition and an expansion on both sides.  It feels good to be helped and it feels good to help.  

The best way to honor the gift of fire from our teachers is to keep adding fuel, keep fanning the embers.  Keep looking for the spark of possibility in others and fan that ember for them until they can start to see it for themselves.  Once it gets going, the whole world will benefit in a multitude of ways and then they will have the gift of fire to pass on.

Life is truly wonderful!