The Recaps Team is saddened by this tragedy and sincere heart felt prayers are sent for "all"  that are grieving and affected by this recent tragedy in Boston and Texas. 

Many people can take on the suffering of others  without being involved - without seeing it - and without being closely  related   to those  suffering and affected  - They are very special people -

Have you ever been overwhelmed with grief and it was because of something that happened to someone else?

Have you felt sad, at a loss for comforting words and totally helpless when you got news of a suicide - a death by auto - a foreclosure - or even home losses from the Colorado fires, NYC Storm, Sandy Hook, and now the Boston Marathon tragedy and the plant explosion in Texas?
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  Did you feel the pain so real as if it had happened to you? If so, you are a very special person with enormous empathy & compassion which can be a two edged sword --- The article below may offer some encouraging and helpful tools for your healing but may not be embraced or understood by everyone -- and that is OKAY 

Please read and allow your heart and mind to be open to receive  even if it is a little different from what you  are  use to hearing – take what feels  comfortable  and allow for more time to possibly embrace it all  -

Time in of itself does not heal – it  is what you do in that time  -  you may not be able to recover that which was lost – but you  can recover from the pain of the loss and in a short time frame when applying  techniques  of a Grief Recovery Program -  Blessings to all who are  suffering  now from any crisis or tragedy in their life

Spiritual Healing For Disasters by Joel Bruce Wallach

Note: Although this was written in response to the quake in Haiti, this healing information is helpful for any difficult situation, anywhere, anytime.

Do large-scale disasters seem overwhelming to you?

You can learn to face your fears, and you can utilize your awareness to help make a healing difference in the situation.

Are you willing to learn how you can make a difference– to go deeper than your fear, so that you can tap into a greater power that we all have access to?

Staying in fear is easy. Going beyond fear may take some work, but you can do it. Use the methods described here to understand how to cope, and learn how you can help make a difference in the world.

How could you make a difference in such a vast situation?

If you can hold a positive intention, you can make a difference. Everything in the world is a physical expression of an underlying grid, or network of energy. You can help this energy shift and heal.

How can your intentions possibly make a difference on the physical plane?

If you can imagine a new possibility, you can help shift the energy of a situation. At first, it may seem that you are only imagining the shift. You are shifting the underlying energy of the situation, along with the healing work of thousands of other people. Together, you are all making a difference in the energy. And this shifts the situation, gradually, by helping the situation re-align itself with the universe in the most helpful way.

 How can you clear negative energy?

If you can massage the shoulders of a friend, you have the basic skill to help lift negative energy away.

If you can imagine an ice cube melting on a hot sidewalk, you have the basic imagination ability that can help shift negative energies.

A philosophical question that may have arisen in your mind. . .

Is it the karma of people in a troubled region to experience the difficulty that they are now experiencing? The answer is that yes, to some extent, it is their karma. Karma simply refers to repeated patterns.

However, it is also your karma, as one who is aware of the situation, to help to the extent that you can. In other words, you can help change the pattern. And that is why you are exploring these healing methods now– because you intuitively recognize that whatever led you to recognize a particular situation, you yourself recognize that you can be part of the solution.

The assistance you give now makes the planet a more safe and positive place for you and your family, and for everyone else as well. If you like, consider your assistance as the creation of good karma. Or simply as something you choose to do to help make the planet a better place for everyone.

Here is how you can use these basic skills to make a difference for the planet. . .

These principles work, and they are effective for you whether you are working within a religious framework, or whether you are seeking understanding of fundamental laws of the universe.

When you utilize these principles of basic energy healing, you are cooperating with the cosmic intelligence of this universe, whatever name you may give to this essential intelligence. Thank you for co-creating a better world for all.

1. Face your own personal fear:

- Notice your breathing, and notice where your breath is flowing in your body.

- Notice the tense spots. Gently breathe into these areas.

- The tense spots are the fear, trapped in your body. There is nothing wrong with having fear, because it is a natural response. So, there is nothing to judge.

- Just breathe into the tense spots in your body, and the fear will gradually melt and flow away. It may not release entirely, and that is fine. You do not need to be perfect to help heal a situation.

- Imagine that you are embracing and loving the parts of yourself that feel the fear. Tell yourself:

I love myself, even when I feel fear.

I forgive myself for feeling fear.

Even though some fear is present, I can still help heal this situation.

- Let the fear energy within you flow through your heart, and circulate through your body. Your heart actually has the power to transform your fear into a healthy energy. As it circulates through your body, it actually becomes positive energy. Prove this for yourself.

2. Recognize that you are protected:

- You exist amidst the infinite universal energy. It is all around you. And, it is within you. Whatever name you call it, recognize that it contains the energies for healing, balance, and protection.

- Imagine this universal energy in which you exist, however you would like to imagine this energy. You may feel it, see it, hear it, or you may just know that it is there.

- Breathe it in. Do this calmly and gently. Imagine that this moment expands, so that you have infinite time to breathe.

- Let the universal energy remind you that you are part of the universe. As you sense this connection, begin to get a sense of peace and hope. Sense that more is possible than you may have realized. Remember that you can use any name or concept you prefer to describe this universal energy.

3. Get perspective, or distance, from the situation you wish to heal:

- Imagine the situation located at a safe distance from you– this keeps you from feeling overwhelmed or surrounded by the situation that you wish to heal.

- Imagine the situation as being small– for example, imagine an earthquake site as a small map of the region. Place it about 10-20 feet, or 3-6 meters, in front of you. This keeps it manageable, and is much easier for you to work with.

- It is fine if you see the region in a symbolic way, such as a small map, or a small ball of energy. This frees you from unnecessary details, and lets you work with the essential matters of energy balancing.

- Get the universal perspective on the situation– see the situation, however big it may seem to be, as a small dot amidst the infinite universe. This helps you bring universal healing energy to the situation, and frees you from becoming overwhelmed by the size of the situation.

4. Connect the situation with universal healing energy. Whether you call the energy God, Allah, Brahma, Sat Nam, Great Spirit, Chi, Divine Intelligence, or simply Universal Energy:

- What does the healing energy look like? The universal intelligence has no particular form, because it is the underlying consciousness that creates and vitalizes everything in the universe. So, keep it simple. Just imagine it as a sparkling energy that is everywhere.

- You are imagining the situation that needs healing in front of you, at a safe distance, surrounded by the universal intelligence of the entire universe. And so there is definitely enough healing energy for this situation. You do not have to use your own personal energy to heal this situation.

- Use your hands to massage the universal energy through the situation needing healing. Massage the universal energy directly through the situation, as if the situation were flexible enough to let the universal energy easily flow through. Remember– you are working with the essential energy of the situation, and that is why it is flexible. You are not trying to force healing energy into the physical level of reality.

- Massage the universal energy towards the situation needing healing, and massage the stagnant energy away from the situation. Let the universal energy dissolve the stagnant energy.

5. Lift the heavy energies of the situation away:

- A challenged situation tends to have vast accumulations of heavy, stuck energy. It is much easier to confront if you see the situation as small, and at a safe distance from you.

- Imagine that your hands are made of energy, and that they are protected by universal energy. You might imagine your hands as protected by large energy gloves.

- Use your hands to life the heavy stuck energies away from the situation.

- Imagine that the heavy energy becomes softer and lighter as you work with it.

- Move the stuck energies at a great distance from the planet, and massage the energies into the universe, so that the stuck energies disperse and dissolve in the universe. This is actually a form of recycling, because the energies will then be available to the universe as fresh new energy.

- Each time you help release energy, you reduce the pain and pressure in the region you are assisting.

- Work gradually– release a little energy at a time. Do no try to release it all at once, because that is only going to create frustration. Each time you release and dissolve some negative energy, you are improving the situation safely and gradually.

- As you release the surface layers of stuck energy, you may notice deeper stuck energies. Be patient, and calmly help these deeper energies release and dissolve as well.

6. Expand the positive spiritual or universal essence of the region:

- Everything in the universe has a core essence of universal energy. Whether you call it divine energy, or just universal intelligence, it is the basic vibration of which this universe is made.

- Imagine this universal essential energy as a universal spark of light, vibrating in the center of the region. You are imagining this universal spark as shining within every aspect of the region. Remember that you are seeing the region at a safe distance in front of you.

- With your hands– protected, if you like, by energy gloves– reach towards the spark, and help it expand. Massage the spark, so that it spreads throughout the region. Help the spark shine outwards, in all directions. This helps the universal essence in the region flow to every aspect there– the people, the land, the houses, and everything else in the region.

 - Massage the universal spark in the region outwards, so that it unites with the embracing presence of the universe. Then massage the surrounding universal energy directly into the region. And so you are massaging back and forth, from the region out to the surrounding universe, and from the surrounding universe back to the region. This weaves the region into alignment with the universe.

7. Assisting with specific needs in the region:

- Now that you have worked with the underlying energetic blocks in the situation, you have helped create more clarity, balance, and universal alignment in that area. You can now help with improving the specific needs of the region, such as:

need for food, need for shelter, need for healing, need for calmness, need for love, need for feeling connected to the universe, and much more.

- Do you remember seeing the region surrounded by the infinite universe? Within that universal energy are the specific energies of food, shelter, love, healing, and any other specific energy you can imagine.

- What does the energy of Food look like? Just imagine a sparkling energy surrounding the region. Let this sparkling energy represent Food. Why would this make a difference? Because when the underlying universal energy of something is present, it is easier for that substance to manifest in appropriate ways.

- Use your hands to help massage the energy of Food, from the surrounding universal energy, and weave this energy throughout the region. Massage the energy of Food directly into the energy fabric of the region.

- Use your hands to help massage the energy of Love, from the surrounding universal energy, and weave this love-energy throughout the region. Massage the Love directly into the energy fabric of the region.

 - Remember that these gifts from the universe are flowing directly from the universe to the region. The gifts are not flowing from you. You are a catalyst. You are not the source.

8. You have helped heal the energy in a region. Now what?

- You have helped create an energy shift in a region. This shift affects everything else on the planet.

- Imagine the planet in front of you. Imagine it as being small, like a little globe. Put it at a safe distance from you.

- On that little planetary globe, see the region where you were helping with healing. See the region as a little spark on the planet.

- With your light-gloved energy hands, massage the energy between that region and the rest of the planet. This helps balance the energy between that region and the entire planet. Massage back and forth, between the region and the planet, and you will notice that the entire planet becomes smoother and more balanced.

- Now see the planet as a little globe, surrounded by the sparkling energy of the universe.

- Massage between the planet and the surrounding universe. This creates balance for the entire planet.

9. Release from the process, and set the positive flow in motion:

- Gently release the image of the planet, of the region, and of everything that you were working with. It is time to let the healing process function on its own.

- You can come back to the healing process anytime. However, you must not stay linked to the situation, because that would be draining to you, and would not help the region. If you wish to work with these methods later today or tomorrow, that is fine. Each time you participate in universal healing work, you bring the region to a new level.

- You may have high hopes, and you may be delighted to see that your participation is helping. However, it is just as likely that you will find that troubles continue on the physical plane. Be patient with yourself. You have helped create genuine good, and yet you are co-creating with a situation that may take time to heal.

- You may wonder, at times, if it is worthwhile to assist. It is. You are helping make a difference. The virtues of patience have been taught for thousands of years, and for a good reason. Your strong emotional reactions only create pain for you and for others. Patience is a challenging lesson, but a necessary one.

10. Stabilize your energy, and continue with your day:

- You started by noticing your breathing. Notice your breathing now.

- Notice where you are breathing in your body. Breathe into those areas that are still tense, and love and forgive yourself for any fear or tension.

- Use your energy hands to smooth your own energy. Massage all around yourself, as if smoothing and integrating your energy.

- Use your energy hands to lift any stuck or heavy energy off of your body and out of your energy field. Imagine that you are lifting the energy out of yourself, and releasing it to the universe so it can be recycled. You may have to do this several times, as energy often releases in layers, rather than all at once.

- Imagine a sparkling healing vibration all around you. Use your imagination, for imagination is the pathway to accessing subtle universal energy. This is your direct connection with the universal energy. Breathe it in, and feel that every pore in your skin is receiving this energy. Let the universal energy receive any stagnant energy releasing from you, so that the released energy can be recycled. Now you are ready to continue with your day.

Why does this method not utilize the words and concepts of name your favorite religion or teaching here?

I have specifically not mentioned many words and concepts that you may prefer to use. However, I do encourage you to substitute your preferred words and concepts when you practice these methods. These methods are a framework for you. Do use the methods in a way that is in alignment with your beliefs and understandings about reality.

Thank You for helping make a difference on the planet. Recognize that your work has helped make a shift in a good direction. Understand that you, and millions of others, each working in their own way, are co-creating a more positive world. Thank you for helping manifest heaven on earth.

Many Blessings, Joel Bruce Wallach

I’m Joel Bruce Wallach, and I look forward to sharing step-by-step methods and insights with you, so that you can experience your higher potential with more ease and grace.

Please explore the resources at

http://cosmic-living.com/

 and know this about yourself:

Your mission is for you to discover your unique essence vibration, and let yourself radiate the cosmic vibration of your soul, because that contribution of your divine centered presence brings infinite benefits to one and to all.  http://evolutionezine.com/joel-bruce-wallach/

Understanding the 10 Most Destructive Human Behaviors

LiveScience Staff 

 Self-destruction

Compared with most animals, we humans engage in a host of behaviors that are destructive to our own kind and to ourselves. We lie, cheat and steal, carve ornamentation into our own bodies, stress out and kill ourselves, and of course kill others.

Science has provided much insight into why an intelligent species seems so nasty, spiteful, self-destructive and hurtful.

 Lie

Nobody knows for sure why humans lie so much, but studies find that it's common, and that it's often tied to deep psychological factors.

 "It's tied in with self-esteem," says University of Massachusetts psychologist Robert Feldman. "We find that as soon as people feel that their self-esteem is threatened, they immediately begin to lie at higher levels."

 Feldman has conducted studies in which people lie frequently, with 60 percent lying at least once during a 10-minute conversation.
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  And lying is not easy. One study concluded that lying takes 30 percent longer than telling the truth.

Recent studies have found that people lie in workplace e-mail more than they did with old-fashioned writing.

It's a whole other matter whether people really mean to lie in many instances. Figuring that out requires coming up with a complicated definition of lying.

 "Certain conditions have to be in place for a statement to rise to the level of a lie," explains philosophy professor James E. Mahon of Washington and Lee University. "First, a person must make a statement and must believe that the statement is false.

Second, the person making the statement must intend for the audience to believe that the statement is true. Anything else falls outside the definition of lying that I have defended."

Animals are also known to be capable of deception, and even robots have learned to lie, in an experiment where they were rewarded or punished depending on performance in a competition with other robots.

Crave violence

Violence is found throughout recorded human history, leading some researchers to conclude that we crave it, that it's in our genes and affects reward centers in our brains. However, going back millions of years, evidence suggests our ancient human ancestors were more peace-loving than people today, though there are signs of cannibalism among the earliest pre-history humans.

A study in 2008 concluded that humans seem to crave violence just like they do sex, food, or drugs. The study, reported in the journal Psychopharmacology, found that in mice, clusters of brain cells involved in other rewards are also behind their craving for violence. The researchers think the finding applies to human brains.

"Aggression occurs among virtually all vertebrates and is necessary to get and keep important resources such as mates, territory and food," said study team member Craig Kennedy, professor of special education and pediatrics at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.

"We have found that the reward pathway in the brain becomes engaged in response to an aggressive event and that dopamine is involved."

Many researchers believe violence in humans is an evolved tendency that helped with survival.

"Aggressive behavior has evolved in species in which it increases an individual's survival or reproduction, and this depends on the specific environmental, social, reproductive, and historical circumstances of a species. Humans certainly rank among the most violent of species," says biologist David Carrier of the University of Utah.

Steal

Theft can be motivated by need. But for kleptomaniacs, stealing can be motivated by the sheer thrill of it. One study of 43,000 people found 11 percent admitted to having shoplifted at least once.

"These are people who steal even though they can easily afford not to," says Jon E. Grant of the University of Minnesota School of Medicine.

In a study in 2009, participants either took a placebo or the drug naltrexone — known to curb addictive tendencies toward alcohol, drugs and gambling. Naltrexone blocks the effects of substances called endogenous opiates that the researchers suspect are released during stealing and which trigger the sense of pleasure in the brain.

The drug reduced the urges to steal and stealing behavior, Grant and colleagues wrote in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

Theft may be in our genes. After all, even monkeys do it. Capuchin monkeys use predator alarm calls to warn fellow monkeys to scatter and avoid threats. But some will make fake calls, and then steal food left by those that scattered.

Cheat

Few human traits are more fascinating. While most people would say honesty is a virtue, nearly one in five Americans think cheating on taxes is morally acceptable or is not a moral issue, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. About 10 percent are equally ambivalent about cheating on a spouse.

People who espouse high moral standards are among the worst cheats, studies have shown. The worst cheaters tend to be those with high morals who also, in some twisted way, consider cheating to be an ethically justifiable behavior in certain situations.

Cheating on spouses by celebrities and politicians thought to be moral leaders has become rampant. The behavior has a simple explanation, experts say: Guys are wired to want sex, a lot, and are more likely than gals to cheat. The behavior may be particularly likely for men with power.

"People don't necessarily practice what they preach," says Lawrence Josephs, a clinical psychologist at Adelphi University in New York. "It's not clear to what extent people's ethical values are actually running what they do or don't do."

Cling to bad habits

Perhaps everything else on this list would be far less problematic if we were not such creatures of habit. In fact, studies have found that even when the risks of a particular bad habit are well-known, people find it hard to quit.

"It's not because they haven't gotten the information that these are big risks," says Cindy Jardine of the University of Alberta. "We tend to sort of live for now and into the limited future — not the long term."

Jardine, who has studied why people cling to bad habits, cites these reasons:

-- Innate human defiance

-- Need for social acceptance

-- Inability to truly understand the nature of risk

-- Individualistic view of the world and the ability to rationalize unhealthy habits

 -- Genetic predisposition to addiction

People tend to justify bad habits, she says, by noting exceptions to known statistics, such as: "It hasn't hurt me yet," or, "My grandmother smoked all her life and lived to be 90."

 Bully

Studies have found that half or more of grade-school children experience bullying. A European study in 2009 found that children who bully at school are likely to also bully their siblings at home. That led a researcher involved in the study to speculate that bullying behavior often starts at home.

"It is not possible to tell from our study which behavior comes first, but it is likely that if children behave in a certain way at home, bullying a sibling for instance, if this behavior goes unchecked they may take this behavior into school," said Ersilia Menesini of the Universita’ degli Studi di Firenze, Italy.

But bullying is not just child's play. One study found that almost 30 percent of U.S. office workers experience bullying by bosses or coworkers, from withholding of information critical to getting the job done to insulting rumors and other purposeful humiliation. And once it starts, it tends to get worse.

Bullying, by definition, is escalatory. This is one of the reasons it’s so difficult to prevent it, because it usually starts in really small ways,” says Sarah Tracy, director of the Project for Wellness and Work-Life at Arizona State University.

Experts say to combat workplace bullies, respond rationally, specifically, and consistently.

Why do we do it? To gain status and power, psychologists say. And for some, it may be hard to resist the behavior. Researchers have seen bullying behavior in monkeys and speculate that the behavior may stretch way back in our evolutionary tree.

 Nip, Tuck, Plump and Tattoo our Bodies

 By 2015, 17 percent of U.S. residents will be getting cosmetic procedures, the industry predicts. Some would call it self-edification, of course, or art, or a way to kill time or perhaps rebel against authority. But in general, and given that people have died from cosmetic surgery procedures, what makes so many people so intent on artificially remaking themselves?

First, it's worth noting that while options at the body shop have never been more varied, the practice is ancient, often tied to cults and religions or power and status, and in fact much of the modern nip, tuck, paint, poke and plump procedures are benign compared with some ancient practices. People have reshaped their heads, elongated their necks, stretched their ears and lips, painted their bodies or affixed permanent jewelry for thousands of years.

Perhaps the strongest motivations nowadays are to be beautiful, however one might define that, or simply to fit in with a particular group.

The lure of beauty can't be denied as a prime motivator to nip and tuck. Studies have shown that shoppers buy more from attractive salespeople; attractive people capture our attention more quickly than others; and skinny people have an easier time getting hired and promoted.

"There's this idea that if you look better you'll be happier. You'll feel better about yourself," says psychologist Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Research Center for Women & Families. "And logically that makes so much sense, because we live in a society where people do care what you look like."

A sign of the times, as Baby Boomer age: While cosmetic surgery sales sagged during the recession, wrinkle-blasting laser treatments have skyrocketed.

Stress out

 Stress can be deadly, raising the risk for heart problems and even cancer. Stress can lead to depression, which can lead to suicide — yet another destructive behavior that's uniquely human (and glaringly not on this list).

 But exactly why we stress is difficult to pin down. These truths will resonate with many, however: The modern workplace is a source of significant stress for many people, as are children.

More than 600 million people around the world put in 48-hour-plus workweeks, according to the International Labor Organization. And advances in technology — smartphones and broadband Internet — mean a blurring of the lines between work and free time. About half of Americans bring work home, according to a recent study.

The stress of being a parent while also working is borne out by a 2007 study that found older people feel less stress.

"Many older workers are empty-nesters," says researcher Gwenith Fisher, an organizational psychologist at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research (ISR). "They don't have the same work-personal conflicts that younger and middle-aged workers deal with, juggling responsibilities to children along with their jobs and their personal needs."

Health experts suggest exercise and adequate sleep are two of the best ways to battle stress.

 Gamble

 Gambling, too, seems to be in our genes and hard-wired into our brains, which might explain why such a potentially ruinous behavior is so common.

Even monkeys gamble. A study that measured monkeys' desire to gamble for juice rewards found that even as potential rewards diminished, the primates acted irrationally and gambled for the chance to get a wee bit more.

A study published in the journal Neuron last year found that almost winning activates win-related circuitry within the brain and enhances the motivation to gamble. "Gamblers often interpret near-misses as special events, which encourage them to continue to gamble," said Luke Clark of the University of Cambridge.

"Our findings show that the brain responds to near-misses as if a win has been delivered, even though the result is technically a loss."

 Other studies have also shown that losing causes gamblers to get carried away. When people plan in advance how much to gamble, they're coldly rational, a study last year found. But if they lose, rationality goes out the window, and they change the game plan and bet even more.

Gossip

We humans are evolutionarily set up to judge and talk about others, no matter how hurtful it might be, researchers say.

Here's how Oxford primatologist Robin Dunbar sees it: Baboons groom each other to keep social ties strong. But we humans are more evolved, so we use gossip as social glue. Both are learned behaviors.

Gossip establishes group boundaries and boosts self-esteem, studies have found.

In any instances, the goal of gossip is not truth or accuracy. What matters is the bond that gossiping can forge, often at the expense of a third party.

"When two people share a dislike of another person, it [gossip] brings them closer," says Jennifer Bosson, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida.

http://www.livescience.com/14152-destructive-human-behaviors-bad-habits.html

This post was emailed to Recaps

The Price of Children - What Are They Worth?

This is just too good not to share

Here is something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down.
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But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:

* $8,896.66 a year,

* $741.38 a month,

*$171.08 a week.

* A mere $24.24 a day!

* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is; don't have children if you want to be 'rich.' Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?

* Naming rights . First, middle, and last!

* Glimpses of God every day.

* Giggles under the covers every night.

* More love than your heart can hold.

* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.

* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.

* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.

* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.

* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:

* finger-paint,

* carve pumpkins,

* play hide-and-seek,

* catch lightning bugs,

* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:

* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,

* watch Saturday morning cartoons,

* go to Disney movies, and

* wish on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:

* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,

* taking the training wheels off a bike,

* removing a splinter,

* filling a wading pool,

* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and

* coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:

* First step,

* First word,

* First bra,

* First date,

* First time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match..

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren!!!!!!! It's the best investment you'll ever make

 

Have you heard your call? Maybe this is it ~ are you going to take the call? What are you waiting for? You know it is time ~ you know you will never feel right until you do ~  take the call!!

You will be more alive than you have ever been!  Come on - soar with the eagles - be who you are - not what someone thinks you are or wants  you to be -- be who you really are !!

 Maybe if you’re not “fitting in”  maybe  it’s because you’re meant to “stand out”

Once upon a time, an eagle’s egg was found by a farmer and mistaken for a chicken egg. The egg was placed with the other eggs in the incubator at the hen house 
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  Some weeks later that egg hatched. The baby eagle was raised as a chicken with the other chicks. Along with his chicken peers, he was taught to peck and scratch. He was made to scurry along the ground like the other chickens. He was sternly warned against flying, because chickens don’t really fly, they flutter and fall.

This eagle made a miserable chicken. He didn’t peck well. He hated scurrying because he was always feeling clumsy and falling. He was constantly hungry and irritable, because the chicken feed just couldn’t seem to satisfy him. The other chickens found him disruptive and odd

After years of struggling to be a normal chicken, this poor eagle’s self esteem was pretty low. He hated himself. “Why am I so big, awkward and different?” he often wondered, “Why can’t I be happy like all the other chickens here?”

“Is this all there is to life?” he agonized, “Where’s the thrill? Where’s the flow?”

He began to do more and more disruptive things just to get a little hit of excitement. He was starved for action and adventure – he desperately craved in his heart that feeling of soaring – only he didn’t even know what that was – so he tried to compensate by making his own thrills around the chicken coop, causing drama and disturbances. Other chickens called him selfish, disordered and a troublemaker. The poor eagle took it all to heart, believed them and became depressed.

One day, high overhead the young eagle saw another eagle soaring in the sky. It took his breath away. For a moment he felt a surge of recognition. He felt something inside him stir. He felt more alive than he had ever felt before.

In his excitement he told his family of chickens what he saw and how he wanted to fly like that too. They scoffed at him. “Are you nuts?!” “You’re dreaming.” “Get real. Chickens don’t fly.” “You are being totally impractical.” “You can’t even cluck and scratch – and now you think you can fly someday!?” the chickens chided.

“When will you grow up and join the pecking order of this chicken coop. Why can’t you be more like your peers? What’s wrong with you?!” 

The young eagle was shamed and disheartened. He felt hopeless and alone as he fell to sleep at night.

 Days later, to his delight, he spotted the soaring bird and this time it let out the cry of an eagle. The moment the young eagle raised by chickens heard this cry something unexpected happened. His body lurched uncontrollably – his entire being responded automatically to that eagle’s majestic cry with a powerful eagle cry of his own. He was astonished. “What just happened?!… Did that glorious sound come from me? Chickens don’t make that sound! Only eagles do… Wait… Only eagles do!”

  The young eagle, finally aware of what he truly was, for the first time stretched out his wings and flew. Before he knew it he was soaring. He was no longer imprisoned by the chicken coop, because he was no longer imprisoned by the idea that he had to be a chicken. Nothing could contain him anymore.

A chicken coop can only coop up chickens; it cannot stop an eagle from soaring – especially once they hear their call.

Have you heard your call? Are you listening?

Maybe this is it…

http://wayseernews.com/the-call

~ Are there any that would share would tell their story of hearing their call ?~ It could have to do with just about anything or at any time in your life ~ Maybe to do with going to school – getting a job – getting married -  but most likely will involve a drastic  life change  and could possibly even involve more than one occurrence  -

Maybe your call is related to the Dinar investment and how you will use it -

When it happened  was  there was a “knowing” ? ~ A knowing that it felt like nothing else  and it felt “right” and very “real”?  ~  That “feeling” was it deep down inside  your being? ~ This does not mean necessarily that there were no moments of emotions of doubt ~ fear ~ and disbelief ~  What emotions did you experience - 

How did your call come to you? Where were you?  How old were you? Did you act on it right away? Did it take time  for other things to come into play before you acted?
How did it  and how has it changed your life? Did you / do you feel free and liberated since taking your call?

Some stories could be long – detailed and very personal while others just a few lines – and not so personal – This is a very individual experience and expression and all are respected ~ honored ~ and welcomed - Thank you in advance for sharing your experience

Your story could be the very one to open the ears  of others who have not heard their call - Your story may be the very one that tugs at someones heart who has heard the call but maybe too scared to act on it  - Your story could be the very one that encouraged someone who has been waiting on the call and has become very discouraged -

PLEASE PLEASE when leaving comments for any article PLEASE  make shorter paragraphs  for ease in reading for all  - ( NO MORE THAN 4 LINES) especially those who may have poor or limited vision -  Thank you very much ! We at Recaps appreciate our loyal readers and contributors

The Invitation   Oriah Mountain Dreamer   Canadian Teacher and Author  VIDEO INCLUDED

It is the story of a very human woman who longs to live fully awake. It is the story of the human heart’s capacity and longing to live intimately with all of it‐the joy and the sorrow, the hope and the fear.

I wrote the prose poem, The Invitation one night after returning home from a party. I don’t usually attend parties but on this occasion, berating myself for being anti‐social, I made an effort to go and be friendly.

I returned home feeling frustrated, dissatisfied with the superficial level of the social interaction at the party. I longed for something else.

Years before I had attended a writing workshop where poet David Whyte had given us a writing exercise, based on a poem of his own, where we began alternate lines with the phrases, “It doesn’t interest me. . ” and “What I really want to know is.”

Using this form I sat down and wrote The Invitation as an expression of all the things I really did want to know about and share with others.
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  Several days later I included the poem in a newsletter I was sending to men and women who had come to do retreats and workshops with me. And from there, the poem took on a life of its own.

People copied and shared it with friends and colleagues around the world, posting it on the internet, workplace bulletin boards and kitchen refrigerators.

They read it at weddings and funerals, at conferences and gatherings in churches and boardrooms and universities.

I began to hear from folks from all over the world‐from Romania, Iceland, South Africa, New Zealand, Russia and from all over the United States and Canada. I couldn’t believe how many people felt touched by the longing for deeper intimacy expressed in the poem.

As the poem changed hands a few individuals took it upon themselves to add or change some words. “Faithless” was changed by some to “faithful,” “beauty” to “God” and‐as I later found out‐a man in Chicago, sure that I was an aged or deceased Native American man, put “Indian elder” after my name.

Where possible I made requests for folks to share the poem as it was written and tried to correct the misrepresentation of myself as an “Indian elder.”

Although there are stories of Native American ancestors in my family history (along with stories of German and Scottish descent) I am neither old enough nor wise enough to claim to be an elder of any people.

In 1998, after being approached by Joe Durepos, a literary agent seeking permission to use the poem in a book by Jean Houston, I began to write the book, The Invitation, using each stanza as a structure to go more deeply into each of the desires expressed in the poem and offering meditations I had used to explore my own longing.

As I write in the beginning of the book The Invitation is “. . . a declaration of intent, a map into the longing of the soul, the desire to live passionately, face‐to‐face with ourselves and skin‐to‐skin with the world.”

It is the story of a very human woman who longs to live fully awake. It is the story of the human heart’s capacity and longing to live intimately with all of it‐the joy and the sorrow, the hope and the fear.

The Invitation was published by HarperONE, San Francisco in the spring of 1999. It became a best‐seller and has been translated into over fifteen languages around the world.

           
The Invitation   Oriah Mountain Dreamer   Canadian Teacher and Author

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living  I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love for your dreams for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon... I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain mine or your own without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy mine or your own if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful be realistic to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself.

If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty even when it is not pretty every day. And if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure yours and mine and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes."

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

Instead of focusing on the knots and "nots"  in your life - I ask you and challenge you to starve those for a while and  practice giving energy to the great "I am's" and the wonderful forgotten "have's" in your life -- 

Take care now -- be safe - be well -- be prepared -- be happy  and most of all -- be kind -- 

Thank you for what you have brought to my life and how you have touched it –  be it the kind  words of appreciation & support  or for stirring an awakening  or a challenge that moves me  to learn – grow &  strengthen

"Let there be Peace and Love on Earth, and Let it begin with me" -  from the Heart 

If you have already seen or heard of this I pray it may be a “gentle” reminder to give you encouragement for today  - The music is beautiful and very calming -  I hope you enjoy 
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THE “KNOTS” PRAYER – THE “NOTS” POEM

Dear God,

Please untie the knots that are in my mind, my heart and my life.

Remove the have nots, the can nots and the do nots that I have in my mind.

Erase the will nots, may nots, and might nots that find a home in my heart.

Release me from the could nots, would nots and should nots that obstruct my life.

And most of all, dear God… I ask that you remove from my mind, my heart and my life…

all of the am nots that I have allowed to hold me back, especially the thought that I am not good enough.

~ Anonymous

This beautiful poem was first sent by a pastor to his congregation. No one is quite sure who the original author was, no one having claimed to be the writer. Was it this pastor? He does not say.

Take Back Your Power

Lately, I’ve been watching episodes from the 1970s TV show, Kung Fu, on DVD. It starred David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine, a half-Chinese, half-American Shaolin priest who wanders the post-civil war American West looking for his long-lost brother.

Caine is a martial arts master who resorts to using his fighting skills only when someone’s safety is at stake. Kung Fu introduced many Westerners to some of the basic tenets of Eastern thought. Like fine art and true wisdom, many of the teachings espoused in the show are timeless and universal in nature.

One of my favorite episodes, El Brujo, concerned an evil witch who was terrorizing a small town. The townspeople so feared this man that they willingly gave away their power – performing whatever actions he demanded – hoping to please him. At one point, the townspeople were resigned to letting an infant die because the evil man had cursed the baby.
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 When Caine arrives, he cures the infant using herbs. Later, the witch curses one of the town’s leaders, condemning the man to death in 24 hours. As before, the leader tries to give away his power – this time, pleading for Caine to rescue him. Caine simply replies, “Why do you believe him?”

The leader’s shock matches the shock I sometimes see on people’s faces when I ask them the same question, after they report “news” they’ve viewed on TV. The number of people who willingly accept the thoughts and edicts of others, without question, is astounding, but understandable.

In our society,we have been trained since birth to delegate our thinking and give away our power to outside “experts.”

When you spill hot coffee on yourself, you are advised to hire an attorney to argue that you were not warned the coffee was hot. When you watch a political debate, experts come on later to “explain to you” what you just heard and what it means, as though you were incapable of forming your own opinion.

You are taught to blindly allow doctors to pump drugs into your body, and to ignore the wisdom contained within your own self.

While soliciting outside advice can be helpful, blindly accepting another’s thoughts, without discernment, violates your responsibility to yourself as a majestic spiritual being living on earth.

In the Kung Fu episode, a flashback to Caine’s early training at the Shaolin monastery in China echoes this simple truth. His blind teacher, Master Po, explains, “The undiscerning mind is like the root of a tree – it absorbs equally all that it touches – even the poison that would kill it.”

Caine chooses not to accept the poison. When the witch curses Caine, nothing happens, for the simple reason that Caine “does not believe him.” The witch’s hold over the town immediately vanishes.

So it is today. You need not blindly accept whatever fate or expectation your parents, siblings, teachers, political leaders, media commentators, friends or co-workers have dictated for you. You not only have the right, but the responsibility, to decide, for yourself, what you think.

To do so, you must become aware of your thoughts. You may well discover that the majority of thoughts that you think every day are not even your own. You may further discover that many of these thoughts are disempowering, intended to induce fear or otherwise direct your behavior.

You did not incarnate on earth to “play it safe” or be a robot that simply “follows the rules, hoping to fit in.” You were created in the image of God. This means you were born to create.

Your life’s mission is to tap into your inner self and express the wisdom from within – not to blindly accept the viewpoint or doctrine of some expert, guru or societal program as the default setting.

Understand that as a creator, every thought you think is creating your world. Will it be a prison … or will it be a heavenly garden? Wouldn’t you rather be the architect of a beautiful paradise worthy of such creative power?

To create “Heaven on Earth,” you must regularly tap into your divine nature by whatever name you choose to call it: master within, higher self, inner light, etc. When you tap into your inner self on a daily basis, you begin to assume and deepen your majestic spiritual nature.

There is no other mission on earth as critical as learning to tap into your inner self for guidance and expressing your inner light. As numerous spiritual traditions assert, “The highest and best source of wisdom comes from within.” Learning to ask for, listen to and accept this guidance is essential to developing spiritually.

When you have tapped into your inner self, you then can use your mind to interpret the “voice” of your inner master, and take inspired action to create or express yourself – whether you are writing, painting, singing, working, playing or simply thinking.

Now, be forewarned: there are those who may tell you that relying on your “mind” is dangerous – that doing so is egotistical. Some “schools” of thought actually argue humans think too much and, to balance this tendency, they should rely more on emotion and instinct. This “theory” misses the point entirely. The issue is not whether you, or anyone else, thinks too much, but rather WHAT VOICE DO YOU LISTEN TO – the voice of your ego or that of your higher self?

Experience, intuition and certain other clues will help you to recognize the voice of your inner self and avoid the pitfalls of the ego. (We will cover this subject in more depth in another lesson.)

Until then, it’s time to think your own thoughts and take back your power!

If you would like to flush extraneous, discordant energies, thoughts and emotions from your energy bodies, to better prepare you to tap into your innermost self, please visit: Energy Center Clearing

Best wishes,  Ed

P.S. If you found this information helpful, please share it with a friend. They’ll appreciate it and thank you for thinking of them.     LINK

Edwin Harkness Spina is an award-winning author, speaker and mystic. His first book, Mystic Warrior, won the Independent Publisher Book Award for Visionary Fiction and a Nautilus Silver Book Award for Fiction. Ed is also a contributing author, along with Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Joe Vitale and others, to the bestseller, 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life.

Ed is also the developer of Energy Center Clearing which flushes low vibrational energies that lead to stress, fear, anger and hatred from a person’s being and replaces them with higher vibrational energies that leaves you feeling light, free and energized.

The Power to Never Feel Powerless Again by Guy Finley

In one way or another, we often feel “trapped” by life. If it weren’t true, we wouldn’t spend as much time as we do trying to “escape” our circumstances.

We’re so involved with imagining and swimming to our own Fantasy Island, we never consider this important question: what if the condition we wish to escape were only an illusion that feels real? How would such a realization change our lives?

Let’s look into these questions, starting with the feeling of being trapped. What do we know about it? For one thing, it is neither gender nor economically selective; everyone, regardless of social status, has a share of this unwanted state of self.

We also know that none of us would remain feeling trapped if we had the power to change our condition. Which leads us to this finding:We frequently feel powerless.
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And when we see no solution to our situation, confusion colors our considerations. Frustration grows. We feel imprisoned behind a wall of fearful expectations.

But we need not, and must not, accept a life of such limitation. We can uncover the root of this powerless feeling — and release ourselves from it — by discovering the nature of the illusion that creates it.

For most of us the show gets started like this: “Why did he have to do that?” or — “Life isn’t fair!” or “They took this away from me.” But these reasons are not the source of our pressing stress!

First we must see that these moments are events, not powers; they are passing conditions, not prisons. Seeing this, the real question isn’t how to regain our lost power, but what is it about these events that causes us to feel powerless because of them?

Here are a few vital facts: the feeling of being powerless has nothing to do with what someone else did or didn’t do – or with what you did or didn’t do at any point in your life – regardless of your present conditions. A little detective work will prove these statements.

What’s the first thing we see when we hear news that runs counter to what we want? We don’t really “see” anything at all; instead our attention is seized, absorbed by a familiar negative reaction whose only wish is that the unwanted moment just go away.

This resistance acts on our consciousness as a “blinding” and binding force, so all we can “see” is our own negativity over what we wish wasn’t happening! We literally “look” at what we don’t want to be there.

For example, when expectations get dashed, we don’t see new possibilities unfolding; all we see is the way things should have gone. We don’t see what is with all of its positive possibilities; instead we see only the negative . . . what is not.

We feel powerless because we’ve become the captive of a mind resisting itself, an involuntary prisoner of a mind struggling to escape its own negative images. There is nothing but powerlessness in this resistance because by law whatever we resist … persists!

The only way to liberate ourselves from the confines of this unconscious relationship is to develop a new awareness of what it costs us to remain in its captivity.

We must ask, what kind of “power” is it to resent any moment for unfolding as it does, to wish it didn’t happen? Does it change the moment in any positive way? No, it does not.

Does our pain prove that our position is right? To the contrary: the more we don’t want the moment, the more we lend credibility to that moment as being overpowering. This false perception then strengthens our negative sense of self as someone being overpowered by it.

But this next insight foretells freedom: whenever we feel like a powerless captive of some condition, it’s because we grabbed onto a false power to lend us strength. Worry, fear, anger, self-loathing, self-pity . . . all negative states are a waste that waste our lives whenever we embrace their empty promise of empowerment.

By contrast, real power is knowing we already possess everything we need to succeed in any moment. Let’s examine this important idea.

What good is any conditional power — social or financial — if, when a challenging moment comes along, we can’t count on that power to be there for us?

We’ve all seen what happens when — due to “unscheduled changes” — our power source is suddenly unplugged.

We either collapse into powerlessness, or scramble around searching for ways to regain our base of power. Either way, we remain a captive of these reactions.

People become angry when they realize they don’t possess the power they imagined. They justify this imagined loss by blaming others for it, and now their power is in being resentful.

But real power keeps us from becoming the puppet of what is unkind to others and ourselves. Real power lifts us above challenging circumstances; it shelters us from fears that want to drag us down into troubled thoughts about tomorrow. Real power is the quiet but certain understanding that everything that comes to us works for the good of us, no matter what it is.

How do we enter into relationship with such pure power? We begin with a startling insight:

Human beings have mistaken themselves as being powers unto themselves. The truth is, we are the instruments of elemental powers, high and low; and yet, our unique place in reality gives us a far greater role to play than any of these primal forces can ever hope to know.

We alone are empowered to choose – from all powers, potential or present – which of them we will embody and serve by expression.

Although we often find ourselves feeling so — there is no such thing as being powerless. Those who resist life — who hate or fear unwanted changes – become the instrument of a power that effectively renders them powerless to do anything but struggle.

But those who realize that the only power negative states have is to create the illusion of self-command, enter into relationship with another kind of power altogether. And this new awareness, like the power it grants, is failsafe.

We can practice this true, new power anytime we want its strength and safety. We start by remembering that in any moment of heartache, worry, or fear, we need not suffer what comes with resisting our sense of being powerless because ours is the power to choose what we will and will not give our power to. The following examples reveal this new and higher possibility:

Rather than live with the pain of a thousand regrets, we can realize that no number of visits to a painful past can change it. The light of this new awareness empowers us to start over now.

Rather than look to anxious thoughts to help us through some fearful situation, we can see that anxiety serves fear — so how can it free us from it? The light of this new awareness empowers us to let go of both these imposters.

Rather than defend our mistakes by excusing them, we can understand that our refusal to learn the lesson at hand ensures we will meet that lesson again, along with its misery. The light of this new awareness empowers us to accept what life would teach us, and the truth sets us free.

Negative states want to convince us we are powerless in the face of what frustrates us. But we have seen that this false perception is actually produced by a dark state that would have us turn to it for the power we need to make things right.

We are learning we can do something radically new: rather than give ourselves over to the habitual reaction of resisting the moment for our fear of it, we remember the truth that sets us free: ours is the power to live from the Power of our choice.

Said slightly differently: we are created with the power to surrender our sense of powerlessness and, in exchange for this sacrifice, realize a life without stress and strife.

Whenever we have a pain or a problem that seems greater than we can deal with, it doesn’t mean we really are without power. These moments are actually “wake-up calls”– invitations to remember our relationship with an indwelling Divine order of ourselves that is the same as our True Nature.

This new action on our part, this conscious realignment born of higher self-awareness, is the same as our rescue. Our sense of being powerless is replaced by releasing the misunderstanding over who we really are.

Now the words, “Let go and let God” take on new meaning. We now understand what must be done to let the Divine Light do for us what we can’t: to know true power, we must release all claims upon it.

(Excerpted from The Essential Laws of Fearless Living, Red Wheel/Weiser)

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Free Yourself From Toxic People (Choosing the Company You Keep) By Guy Finley

Those with whom we assemble, we soon resemble!

This simple old saying hides a deep Truth that can enlighten and empower every aspect of our lives:

Who we are — our very essence — is continually being transformed by the company we keep.

Stated differently, when we keep the company of what is light and bright, our lives get lighter and brighter. And when we keep the company of what is dark and discouraging, our lives can’t help but be dragged downward.

This idea might sound a little simplistic at first, but its power soon becomes evident when we put it to use in the quest to realize our highest aspirations. The key lies in understanding that this principle is active on multiple levels at once.
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For instance, when referring to “the company we keep,” we of course mean the people we spend time with every day — family, friends, co-workers, etc.

However, on a deeper and more important level, “company” can also refer to the thoughts and feelings moving within us in any given moment.

Have you ever been home alone in a fine mood, enjoying a meal perhaps, only to find yourself bored or depressed an hour later? That’s a perfect example of the effect of hanging out with the wrong interior friends.

When we are unconscious to the operation of our minds, any indigent thought or feeling that passes through us has the power to strike up a conversation and drag us into its dark circle of influence.

But just as it’s possible for us to keep bad interior company that pulls us down, so is it possible to keep positive inner company that works to raise us up in any moment we choose to remember it.

This not only means that we can choose not to get dragged down when we are alone, but it also means that we can choose not to get dragged down when we find ourselves in the presence of negative people as well.

How encouraging! When life places us in a situation where a run-in with someone is inevitable — perhaps at work, with a family member, in a store, etc. — we can choose to keep the company of good and true interior friends who can help keep us from falling into negative states.

And therein lies the key: when we remember that keeping the company of negative interior friends is a choice, instead of an obligation, we are free to keep the company of compassion instead of anger, generosity instead of greed, and patience instead anxiety.

Building on this idea, let’s look at four common types of people that can be identified by the four prevailing dark states that inhabit them. By learning to recognize and understand the interior workings of these four types of “toxic people,” we gain important insight into what is dark and limiting inside of us.

In this way, we begin the process of liberation from everything inside of us that stands in the way of knowing the peace, happiness, success, and love that we long for.

1 Muckrakers: These negative spirits live to drag up old painful events and then revel in the anger, resentment, or bitterness that such unhappy memories hold. Stay away from any spirit, in others or in youself, that wants you to dive into some suffering over what happened in any past moment.

2 Mud Slingers: These malicious spirits pull themselves up by pulling others down. They love to gossip, criticize, judge, and denigrate anyone who ever had the misfortune of spending time with them. The only loyalty these denizens of the unconscious worlds have is to their own pain, which they feed by involving everyone they can in their mud slinging.

3 Swamp Dwellers: There is a group of mired spirits that thrive on low vibrations, and that require a human instrument to play out their endless dark dissonance. Easily recognizable, these misfortunate forces serve up dreadful mental pictures of past and future events for the sake of the unnatural reactions they produce. Ignore these corrupted spirits and they must take their evil speculations elsewhere.

4 Life Haters: These dark spirits perpetuate their hold on the human soul by resisting the beautiful gifts of life. They trick us into commiserating with their complaining, cruelty, and irritation because without our unconscious consent, these chronically conflicted spirits can’t spread their poison.

Just as harmful viruses require a human host to exist and thrive, so do negative states require the unconscious consent of human beings to carry out their dark mission. For what power does a negative thought have other than the power to convince a person to do its bidding? The answer is none!

When we begin to consciously withdraw our consent to associate with toxic people, and the toxic thoughts and feelings inside of us, we leave them with no place to thrive. Our real inner work is to sweep clean the places in ourselves where such creatures reside which in turn brightens our life and the lives of everyone around us.

Begin today, this very moment, to withdraw any permission you have unknowingly granted these dark spirits to be in your life. Do not judge yourself, or those around you in whom these misdirected forces are active, but instead come awake and refuse to spend one more moment of your life lending your precious life force to their dark purposes.

This powerful, positive action will change your life. As you begin to refuse to consort with what is dark, you’ll find that you begin to attract with what is light, bright, and cheerful. Your relationships will deepen, your professional life will take on new vigor and freshness, and the whole of your days will begin to resemble the radiant Life that you have deliberately chosen as your conscious companion.

Guy Finley is the best-selling author of more than 40 books and audio albums on self-realization. He is the founder and director of Life of Learning Foundation, a nonprofit center for self-study located in southern Oregon where he gives talks four times each week.

Guy is a faculty member at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York and is a regular expert contributor to Beliefnet and the Huffington Post. For more information visit www.guyfinley.org, and sign up to receive a free helpful newsletter emailed to your desktop once each week.

Copyright Life of Learning. All Rights Reserved.  Permission granted to reprint with author credit. LINK

The 20 Essential Habits of Highly Passionate People

I’ve always worked hard at whatever I’ve been doing. My work-ethic comes from doing what I enjoy, and not forcing myself to do something.

Highly passionate people aren’t just lucky, they share common characteristics. They work hard, they trust their intuition and they persevere.

I personally don’t see myself having any other options than following my passion. Without doing what I truly want, life would be without color, without joy and without meaning.

We all have the habits necessary, we just need to let them shine.
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1. Excitement

When I was in my late teens, I wasn’t even remotely familiar with terms like “follow your passion”, “listen to your heart” or “go with your intuition”.

As the years have passed, these concepts have grown and I’ve realized that the only thing that matters is what I am excited about in this very moment.

It’s far too easy for me to start questioning what I’m doing. Let’s take language learning for example. It’s easy for me to argue that it’s a waste of time.

But in the end, what matters is how much I’m enjoying myself. You can never know where you’ll end up, so you might as well enjoy the ride, right?

We’ve been taught that logic is superior, but is it really? Life isn’t a game where all the variables are known, so there’s no way you can predict the future (unless you have special powers).

2. Courage

Courage is something you build up. When I was younger, I was afraid a lot more than I am now, but I didn’t let it control my life.

Many seem to believe that following their passion should be effortless. Unfortunately it’s not. It requires a lot of hard work, but the good news is that you’ll be loving it, because you’re doing something you’re excited about.

I’ve never worked a real job in my life. I became a professional poker player straight out of school. I had no idea if I was going to succeed. In the beginning, a lot of people doubted if making a living playing poker was possible.
 
I had a passion for playing poker, so I kept at it and eventually started making a comfortable living. That took courage, but it wasn’t extraordinary. I just took things one day at a time and worked hard.

3. Determination

If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that results usually don’t come fast. Following your passion doesn’t just happen. It takes a lot of hard work. In my case, I wasted a lot of money until I started making money online.

People tell me that I’m lucky. I seem to get good at everything they say. I’m not lucky. I’m just determined and I make sure to pick something that I like doing. It’s pretty easy to get good at something you love doing.

In the beginning, you may not be 100% determined, but that’s okay. Be as determined as you can be and keep moving forward. Many people mistake a temporary failure for a permanent one.

There are no permanent failures. There are only learning opportunities. If you learn everything you can about blogging, try it for a year and then lose motivation—that’s cool!

You never know. Maybe you unconsciously picked up a few skills that will help you down the road with something else.

My #1 priority is doing what I feel excited about. If I can’t do that, I might as well be dead.

4. Positivity

I have bad days like anyone else, but in general I’m a pretty positive guy. I feel good as long as I’m doing what I feel I should be doing.

There’s a fine line between being blissfully ignorant and positively realistic. It’s something you have to figure out for yourself. Try both and find your own balance.

I personally enjoy being blissfully ignorant, especially if it upsets someone else. There are a lot of people out there that try to tell you that you can’t go after your dreams.

Those are usually the people that have given up. They aren’t really in a place to give advice. Giving them a few pokes usually (hopefully) provokes new thought.

By being positive you lead by example. There is really no better way to change the world than to be the change you want to see. There’s no need to convince anyone.

5. Single-Mindedness

  Being passionate doesn’t mean limiting yourself to one passion per lifetime. I’ve been passionate about health, martial arts, websites and languages.

My passion changes all the time, but what remains constant is my single-mindedness. I work best when I’m 100% focused on what I do.

For example, in 2010 I immersed myself in learning Spanish. I did nothing else but studied Spanish for several months. I’m obsessive like that.

I want to be able to spend as many hours as possible on what I truly enjoy. That is what I mean by being single-minded.

6. Growth-Oriented
 
By following your passion, you automatically become growth oriented. You tap into something greater than yourself.

That source of guidance can only lead to one place and I think you know what it is. We all have different words, definition and concepts about it, but we all mean the same thing.

I’m always looking to grow in every way possible. I want to become better, smarter and happier.

But you don’t want to lose the fun.

Let’s say you have to choose between two paths.

Path #1 is faster, but requires more discipline and is less fun. Path #2 is slower, but you’ll enjoy it more. In the past I would’ve chosen Path #1, but now I’d choose #2, because if I’m not enjoying myself right now, it’s not worth it.

7. Selective

I used to have a problem of jumping into too many things at once. I think we all have many interests, which is good, but it can be a double-edged sword.

I think we’re familiar with the feeling of wanting to do everything at once. Usually when I ask someone what they want to do, they rabble up a dozen different things.

What works for me is relentless focus. I pick one thing, maybe two, and focus on them until I feel like it’s time to move on.

For some, this may seem irresponsible, but to me, it’s the only way of living life that makes sense.

8. Non-Perfectionistic

I don’t even believe in horoscopes, but I’m a Virgo and apparently they are perfectionists. I am no exception.

Throughout the years I’ve learned to ease up on my perfectionism. Instead of focusing on the little details, I’ve started focusing on the big picture.

I think about what I want to achieve and am more concerned about making progress than making everything look good.

Let’s take blogging as an example, just because it’s on my mind right now. If you want to start blogging, just start! You don’t need an awesome design or to have everything planned out.

All you need is to get your blog up, get it looking okay and start writing, recording podcasts or making videos. That’s the only way you’ll know if you even like it.

So often we think we like something, but when we actually start, we realize that it doesn’t feel right at all. That’s why it’s important to get started, get your feet wet and see how it feels.

9. Prioritized

Prioritization goes hand in hand with being selective. I know people that don’t have time, and I know people that make time. It’s not that you don’t have enough time; it’s that you fail to prioritize.

I’ve received a lot of e-mails about time issues. I know some people are single-mothers, working two jobs while juggling two kids. I have no idea how tough that is, but I do know that if you really want something, there are ways to make time and prioritize, even if it starts with a few minutes per day.

No matter how tough your situation is, you can always do something to move towards your goals. Don’t worry about reaching your goal, just worry about making today more fulfilling than yesterday.

10. Self-Motivated

As long as I’m doing what I want to be doing, I don’t need self-motivation. It’s only when I do the boring tasks that I have to throw in some ninja-motivation techniques.

For example, when I was working on Passionate Living, I had to get the technical part fixed in order to start selling it. It wasn’t fun, but I knew that it had to be done.

My focus was constantly on how good I would feel when I was done. Whatever motivates you is fair game. There are no rules when it comes to self-motivation.

I sometimes use negativity to motivate myself. I don’t care, as long as I get things done. I try to be proactive and avoid these situations though.

The more I follow my passion, the more motivated I am.

11. Acceptance
 
Sometimes things don’t work out the way I want them to. I do my best to accept whatever comes my way, but I don’t always succeed. Sometimes life just isn’t that easy.

If there’s something I try to portray on this blog, it’s the fact that I’m as human as you. Even seemingly god-like personal development bloggers like Steve Pavlina are human.

We all make mistakes. We’re all afraid. The people that seem to be the most successful are the ones who’ve figured out how to keep taking action despite the obstacles on their path.

There’s no one out there that can really tell you what to do. You have to figure out your own stuff. While I do recommend that you learn from others in the beginning, you also have to be willing to take the wheel after awhile and start experimenting.

12. Generous

Service to others is really service to self. I’m going to be honest and say that one of the main reasons I want to help you is because it makes me feel good to see you succeed.

I’ve been on both sides of the fence. When I was a professional poker player, I was focused largely on myself.

It was nice, but it wasn’t fulfilling. I’ve since discovered that helping others makes me feel much better than just helping myself.

Something I also want to point out is that sometimes you need to help yourself before you can help others. Looking at it from that perspective, personal development is really world development.

13. Non-Balance

I have a tendency to get obsessed about the things I am interested in. Like I mentioned above with my Spanish learning. When I started this blog back in December 2009, I was obsessed. I read, listened and did nothing but blogging. It was all I wanted to do.

And it helped me go from 0 to 1,012 blog subscribers in 101 days. When you take action, results happen.

The most important thing is that I had fun while doing it.

I work best when I’m non-balanced. I may do something 10 hours a day for 3 months and then take a break, or I may do it less. It all depends on how I’m feeling.

14. Personal Power

When I got out of school at 18, my personal power level was very low. As the years passed, I’ve realized that the best place to look for guidance is within. If you’ve been reading this blog, you know I say that a lot ;) .
 
This has helped me build confidence. I by no means have a perfect guidance system. I fall into traps. I make a fool of myself, but that’s cool, because I know that I would not want to be doing anything else.

We all have a kid inside of us who wants someone to tell us what to do. We want validation and all that good stuff. That’s okay, but in the end, you are the only one who really knows what you want.

15. Happiness

I used to think money was the answer to happiness. The only way to happiness was having millions in the bank and relaxing on a nice white beach, but that no longer interests me, because I know the artificial happiness it creates would not last.

I need something to work on. I am constantly being pulled in different directions, and I love it. If I were to take a “vacation”, I’d probably get bored after a week and start looking for something to do.

We don’t really need to retire to a beach in Brazil. All we need to do is find what makes us tick, to find our passion(s).

I couldn’t imagine myself doing nothing for an extended period of time. Happiness to me is doing what I want. It may mean something different for you, but that’s what it means for me.

16. Fun

There’s a need for discipline, but there’s also a need for fun. I used to be a lot more disciplined than fun. I’d say no to requests to hang out, because I had my eyes on my current goal.

I wanted to reach my goal as soon as possible. I wanted to get things done. I’m not going to say that I’ve overcome this, because I love my obsessions too much, but I’ve gotten a lot better at relaxing and having fun.

There’s no rush. If you feel like taking a break, then take a break. Who cares if you reach your goal? Who cares how good you look on paper? Who cares what other people think?

17. Perspective

It’s easy to get bogged down in the details, which is why it’s important to take a few steps back and look at what you’re really trying to achieve.

I have a very easy time falling into the trap of looking at numbers in my blogging. I look at how many people unsubscribe from my e-mail list instead of the thank you e-mails I receive.

I compare myself to others and think about how far I still have to go instead of  looking at how far I’ve come.

In the end what this all comes down to is following my excitement. I have to remind myself of that once in awhile. I have to remind myself that I can relax and enjoy myself.

I have to remind myself that there’s no rush. The only pressure you experience is the pressure you put on yourself.

18. Realistically Dreamy

Most of the things we today take for granted were thought to be impossible in the past. The simple point I want to make is this: don’t listen to the nay-sayers, because you will run into plenty of them.

I enjoy being what I call realistically dreamy. If I feel good about something, I’ll go for it. I don’t care if the chances of me succeeding are small, because even if it doesn’t work out, I will most likely gain some vital experience points in life.

If at some point you don’t doubt yourself, you’re probably not being uncomfortable enough. Going after your passion means being uncomfortable. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just different.

19. Conditionally Open-Minded

Being flexible and open-minded means different things to different people. I like to think of myself as conditionally open-minded.

If I’ve set my sails for something, I shut out everything else and start taking action. There’s no need for me to keep distracting myself with more information if I know enough to take action.

There will always be people telling me that I’m doing things wrong, but I don’t listen to them, because the only thing that matters is how I feel about what I’m doing.

Maybe I need to fail in something to succeed at something else down the road. This is why I’ve stopped looking at things in isolation. I’ve started to trust the force.

Yoda was right all along.

20. Excuse-Free

Last, but definitely not least is the fact that I don’t take excuses seriously. If I want something badly enough, I will overcome any excuse.

If I succumb to my excuses, I know I’m not really ready to head down that road. It may also be because it’s not a road that’s a good fit for my at this time.

When I’m on-fire about something, excuses fly out the window. When I started playing poker, I knew that I could make a living if I put in the work.

I was afraid, shy and had all the usual problems 18-year olds have, but my goal was to make it work. I didn’t want a 9-to-5 job like everyone else. It just wasn’t for me.

The excuses you have right now don’t matter. What really matters is what kind of life you want.

And if you want to take things to the next level, I recommend you check out my course, Passionate Living: A Simple Guide to Doing What You Love.

I know I’m biased since it’s my course, but people tell me it’s good ;) LINK


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