Tag Archives: spiritual

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Out With The Old And In With The New!

The new year is here and started, so how is it going so far? I always have the best of plans, the neatest ideas and the grandest of goals, but some where along the way to getting started, something happens and before I know it, I’m distracted and what looked so amazing and cool on paper, well, there is just not enough time to figure out how to manifest it all.

Most people now a days don’t even fool with making resolutions, setting goals or making a plan, because after so many years of disappointment, self frustration and mindless conversations in the mirror – we eventually say: “Enough is enough!” “It is what it is!” and any other good catch phrase we can use to justify inaction and a continuation of the same ole same ole.

It may be that you have already hit that spot or it may be, you just decided to avoid it all together, but before you throw the baby out with the bath water, take just a moment, while we are still in the dawn of this new year to think for just a moment about taking a few simple steps that will make a big difference in getting your life heading in a direction of blessing fulfillment and success.

They used to say: A New Year – It’s Out WIth The Old And In With The New! I think that is a pretty good idea and even though, it is winter time and not spring maybe a little spring cleaning is not such a bad idea??? We all have some things we need to get rid of and I am pretty sure that most of us can find a few things that we need to grab hold of as well, so jump into the three steps below and make a mini plan to get your new year headed in a positive direction of blessing…

1. OUT WITH THE OLD! I want you to think about three things you need to get rid of? It may be an attitude, some junk in your garage, or clothes you’ve outgrown in your closet. Seriously take a few moments to create a “PURGE” List. You can make this list as long as you want and I would encourage you to think and add to the list until it becomes a challenge.

Now with this PURGE LIST in hand, look through the list and identify the three things that you need to get rid of the most. The three things that would free up some room in your space, mind and life… Now make a plan to get rid of these three things. If it’s physical stuff – sell it, donate it, bless someone with it or trash it! If it’s mental stuff – do what you have to do – cry it out, write a letter, have a conversation, get honest with yourself and kick the negativity out of your life. If it’s spiritual stuff, then get real, get right and get free…

Now that you have freed up a little space in your life, go ahead and make a plan to do this same process again next month. That’s right – put it on your schedule and make it a priority. It’s amazing what these little steps will add up to in a year, if you will simply follow through.

2. IN WITH THE NEW! Now I want you to think about three things you need in your life and living? You may need a certain kind of positive attitude, a productive habit, meaningful connection or spiritual discipline. Take a few moments to make a list of “BLESSINGS” that you would like to see come into your life. Again, you can make this list as long as you would like and I would simply encourage you to keep listing until it becomes a real challenge to come up with meaningful items to add.

Now Divide this list into three areas: 1.) Physical, 2.) Mental/Emotional and 3.) Spiritual. Pretty much everything you’ve listed should fall into one of those areas. Now pick one new blessing from each of those areas to invite into your life during this first month of the year. I want you to think about these three positive blessings everyday. In the morning ask yourself: “What can I do today to make these blessings a reality in my life? And in the evening when you lay your head down to go to sleep, I want to challenge you to think about all the opportunities – those seized and those missed, you had to make these blessings a reality.

I believe if you do this as I have challenged, that by the end of this first month of the year, you will see some amazing progress and experience some incredible blessings. Go ahead and schedule time at the beginning of next month to add to this list and stay true to the process of adding and you will be amazed to see the Spirit at work in supernatural ways.

3. THIS LIFE IS GOD’S GIFT TO YOU AND WHAT YOU DO WITH THIS LIFE IS YOUR GIFT TO GOD! With all of my heart, I really do believe it’s true. We are spiritual beings getting to expereince a human life and this is such an amazing and incredible gift. I challenge you to join me in enjoying and growing in every moment of it. Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your journey and thank you for being a part of mine. God Bless & Grow On!

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Be Happy!

Be Happy! It’s easier said than done, right? The truth is: Happiness is not really all that far off for most folks, if you just know where to look and what steps to take. I have seen people that the world would say: “They have everything going for them!”, and yet in spite of all their good fortune, they were miserable. And I’ve seen others that the world would ask: “How in the world can they keep going on?”, and yet despite their cataclysmic struggles, they seem to be some of the happiest people in the world. While it’s true that circumstances do have the ability to make happiness easier or more difficult to obtain, they are not the determining factor.

Scientist have invested a lot of money and spent a lot of time investigating how to obtain happiness and while they have made a lot of amazing discoveries, there still is no magic pill that can make it your reality. I too, have spent a great deal of my life chasing after happiness. There were times that I thought this or that relationship with just the right person would do the trick, but it doesn’t take you too long to realize that most everyone else is on the same journey as you. I have often fell into the trap that certain possessions, a bigger house, newer car, trendier clothes might be the fix, but they all just ended up leaving me hungry for more. I even thought that degrees, titles and prestige might do the trick, only to find that papers stack up, trophies and plaques get old, memories fade and still leave you empty and searching.

We spend most of our lives having our ego fed by the lie of all lies: The lie that says I am what I possess, what I do or what I think other people think of me. This lie causes us to chase after an elusive foe that will never be caught, but that will often get us caught up in messes that take us away from, rather than closer to the happiness we are searching for.

Now, let me state for the record that I am not an authority on happiness. I am simply one individual on a journey that has discovered a lot of what will not work and a handful of things that seem to be taking me in a more positive direction. I want to share just a few of those thoughts as we get ready to dive into 2020:

1.) To Find Happiness, Stop Looking Outside And Start Looking Inside! Most of us fill our schedules with so much activity that we have very little time for solitude, stillness and quiet time, which allows us to go within and do the “thought” work necessary to truly figure out what happiness is for us. If we don’t fill our schedules, then many of us, simply don’t take the time to pray, meditate and contemplate what is really important in life. This inability to make time for “INWARD WORK” robs us of the opportunity to take on and take out the negative thoughts that this world is continually bombarding us with. If we are not intentional about taking time to think, pray, journal and do inward work, then we will most likely never experience the happiness that we were created for and that was created for us.

2.) Take Time To Take A Breath! This may sound a little crazy, but breath is a very important part of life. The fact that we breathe in and breathe out without even thinking about it, is an amazing reality of our lives. Breath matters. Take time to think about your breathing. Acknowledge the miracle of breath coming into and out of your body. This reminds you that there is more to this life than just you. You have a Creator, Who created you as an amazing spiritual being that gets to experience this human life. When this thought really begins to take root in your life and thinking, you can’t help but to live life at a higher level and this contributes to helping you get into just the right place to experience the happiness you were created for.

3.) Practice Gratitude All Day, Everyday In Anyway You Can! I have found that an attitude of gratitude is the single quickest way to get myself adjusted and headed in the right direction. While there are many things that are not working the way I want them to, there are many things that are working better than I could dream or imagine. Often in my life I have focused on what I didn’t like, giving it all the power to call the shots in my life and missed out on all that I had to like, love and appreciate that I should have been empowering to take me in the positive direction I so desperately needed. To help me stay on the right track here are a couple of disciplines I practice on a daily basis: First thing in the morning, I say: “Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!” as my way of acknowledging I am not alone in this universe, that I have been created on purpose for a purpose and that I am grateful to my Maker for blessing me with another day. At some point during the day, I also take time to write down in my journal at least three things I am grateful for. I encouergage you to find ways to meaningfully express your gratitude, it really is a life changer.

Happiness is really not that far off and it is obtainable in your life, just start on the inside and work your way out and you will find happiness, if it doesn’t find you first!

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Are You Happy?

I used to have a friend that would ask me a simple, but powerful question on a fairly consistent basis. He would ask: “Are you happy?” I would answer: “I guess?” I mean, I wasn’t sad, so the opposite is happy, so I must be happy, right? Every now I then, I would wonder to myself: “Are you happy?”, but something else would come along and take control of my thoughts and I would drift onto something else.

I see and hear a lot of people in our world today that are not happy. I think if you asked most people, they would say: “I would like to be happy, but I’m not so sure how to get there. I think a lot of folks spend the first half of their lives, just trying to figure out what “happy” is. We think we know, get it rounded up and discover that what we thought it might be, turns out to be a wrong guess. Which is exactly why I think that a lot of us tend to give up and become satisfied if “happy” just kinda crosses over our tracks every now and then.

But the truth is, we were created for so much more than that. I think one of the problems with the idea of “happy” is that we think it’s a place to be, a destination to arrive at, but it is so much more than that. One of my favorite teachers, Wayne Dyer, puts it this way: “There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way.” I really do like that:  “HAPPINESS IS THE WAY!”  We just have to get our definition and understanding of happiness right and then the rest tends to fall into place.

So what is happiness? Happiness is a lot of different things and it really depends on who you are talking to. Happiness is a choice, a decision of direction that we choose for ourselves, regardless of the situation or projected outcome. Some are happy going and some are happy sitting at home. Some are happy in a noisy crowd and some are happy enjoying quiet time alone. Some are happy with abundance, while some are happy with very little. This actually gives us a clue as to what happiness really is…

HAPPINESS IS  A CHOICE!  Abraham Lincoln said: “We are just about as happy as we make up our minds to be!” That is why you can see two people go through identical situations and one will be happy and up on cloud nine and the other will be down in the dumps and ready to die. So, the one most important thing we can learn about happiness is that happiness is a choice that we get to make for ourselves.

There it is, YOU GET TO DECIDE FOR YOU! You cannot decide for anyone else, but you can decide for yourself and you, yourself can make a difference in helping others to get there for themselves. If you are going through something hard, difficult or challenging, you can be happy knowing that it is making you stronger, revealing wisdom to you and showing you a side of yourself that you never knew existed. If you are going through good times, blessings and success, you can be happy knowing that what you’ve dreamed of and worked for is a reality that makes life better, sweeter and easier.

Choose to by happy, regardless, you will be glad you did!