The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play of instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.
Carl Gustav Jung
Embrace your creativity, play with it and watch it guide you to the answers you seek and to the person you once were and still are.
Here is an exercise that I found to be quite illuminating!
Much of our time is spent looking at other people, talking about other people, offering our point of view or opinions. True?
One day on vacation while sitting at an outdoor Café, enjoying the view and watching people go by, I decided to set an intention. I posed this question to myself to see what comes up for me.
If the person I am focusing on or thinking about is a mirror and what I see when I look at them or think of them is in some way a reflection of me, then what is it about them that attracts me?
Do I like what I see or not?
Do they have something I want?
What is it?
Do I act the same way they are acting?
Is it good or not so great?
If you dare to try this exercise, be open minded about it and make it your intention to come from a place of curiosity, you may be surprised by what you learn about yourself. I was.
The next question is what do you want to do with your new insights?
When you set a goal, are you creating a vision in your mind of where you want to go? Goals give us something to aim for; they provide us with opportunities, feedback and growth potential.
Imagine getting into a car, putting it in Drive and not having a destination in mind. You would probably get nowhere fast and waste a lot of expensive gas!
We often go through life making a series of personally meaningless daily task-type goals. They appear to move us forward and give us a sense of accomplishment but we may sometimes feel like we’re only treading water not swimming forward.
The everyday maintenance goals are the ones that our heads say we have to get done but the goals that give us a sense of meaningful accomplishment and meaningful forward motion are the ones that come from the heart.
What does your heart say it wants? What lies at the summit of the mountain? To avoid being discouraged, what small achievable goals do you want to set to start climbing that mountain? What is your level of commitment? What is your plan? By when do you want to reach the first leg of the journey?
Your goals are not the end result they are your steps to what your heart envisions. Create an action plan. A plan of action gives you direction, confidence and momentum.
If you really want to live, you’d better start at once to try. If you don’t, it really doesn’t matter, but you’d better start – or die.
- W. H. Auden, poet
Start your climb!
How will you feel when you’ve reached your heart-driven goal?
Things do not change; we change
Kahlil Gibran, the Prophet (1883-1931)
What changes do you (yes you the reader) need to make in your life that will bring you happiness or more happiness?
At times, this can be a difficult question to answer.
Name one change you know that you must make that will move you in the direction of happiness, one that you’re ready and willing to make today? How will making this change affect you personally and those around you? Have you made the change yet?
If you don’t know what change to make, are not ready to make a change, not willing or haven’t made it yet, what’s getting in the way?
What comes up for you at the thought of you making a change?
I hope the answers to these questions bring you insight and I welcome yours.
“Courage is the price that life extracts for granting peace”
Amelia Earhart
On this day, let us remember the thousands of brave men and women who sacrificed their lives so that we may live in a free and democratic society. Let us also find within ourselves, the desire and willingness to take the first step of many, with pride and dignity and let life extract at will whatever it sees fit, so that we may reach victory in peace
At some point in your day when you’re driving your car, sitting at your desk at work, washing dishes or vacuuming at home, do you ever find yourself deep in thought?
You know those times when you go into automatic pilot or you seem to complete a task subconsciously. What are you thinking about? What is preoccupying your mind?
Our daily interactions and life experiences sometimes make us feel like we’re caught in a whirlwind of thoughts, emotions and reactions.
What effect does that ‘whirlwind’ have on you and your quality of life moment-to-moment, day-to-day, week to week… at home and at work? If you decide that you “want out” of that whirlwind, what could you do to help yourself?
Notice and acknowledge what you’re thinking about and how you feel. Example, are you thinking about a conversation you had with your spouse, a co-worker or an issue that arose in the past? Notice what is going on in your mind.
Are you reviewing, replaying and analyzing, making assumptions, drawing conclusions…?
How is it making you feel emotionally?
Hurt?
Disappointed?
Disrespected?
Angry?
Annoyed?
Anxious?
What is happening to you physically? Are you tensing, do you feel your blood pressure rising, are you moving faster and throwing things around, breathing fast or are you frozen? Acknowledge how you’re feeling.
Now, ask yourself how much control you have over the situation you’re thinking about and also, what you’re choosing to think. If you were to let go of the things you can’t control, how would you feel?
Who is in control of your thoughts?
How do you want to feel?
What parts of what you’re thinking about do you have control over?
What do you want to do about it?
What’s the next step you want to take?
If it’s true that your thoughts create your reality, ask yourself, what do you want your reality to look like? How is what you’re thinking conducive to what you want?
Another thing that you can do when your mind gets caught in a whirlwind and you “want out”, is find something that makes you smile. It gives you an immediate “feel good feeling” and may sometimes give you just enough of a break from your thoughts that changes how you feel and see things.
On that note, what would you get if you crossed a comedian and a spiritualist? A happy medium
I’ve been asked by a number of people over the years how I define destiny.
The dictionary defines destiny as “the power, which foreordains”
One may ask, so where does this power come from? I believe that the ‘power’ or the force behind our destiny is within us.
Each one of us has the power to fulfill our own unique destiny. If this is true, then how do we connect to and live out our true destiny?
What is destiny?
Well, it involves doing a little homework but in my view, here is what it is and how to fulfill it:
Define who you really are and what you really want
Today is a new day that brings with it a bright light and renewed hope that is felt around the world.
This man, Barack Obama made History yesterday as the first African American to become President of the United States.
With past Presidents elected into power, the quality of leadership, their policy-making skills and performance on a world stage were some of the attributes that dictated how they were viewed and predicted what potential they would bring.
How do you view Barack Obama?
In the spirit of learning and self-reflection, what comes to your mind when you think of Barack Obama as President of the United States? What captures your focus? How important is the color of his skin to you? What feelings come up for you as you think about it?
It’s an absolutely beautiful day out today. I hope it is for you as well. Enjoy it to the fullest!
HOW AWARE ARE YOU WHEN YOU READ AND INTERPRET YOUR EMAILS?
In one word, would you generally describe your personal or workplace emails as, Informative? Sincere? Disrespectful? Harsh? Loving? Judgmental? Demanding? Congenial? Happy?If they vary, what does it depend on? Who’s sending it? What their motives are? What else?
What is your initial response to emails on a given day? How do you interpret an email if your day is not going well at all and you’re not happy? How do you interpret the same email if someone has just acknowledged a job well done and you’re feeling great? Does how you feel about the person sending the email make a difference in how you interpret it?
If you were an actor and a film director asked you to read the following from a place of anger or frustration, how would you read it?
"The things you told me that you wanted to accomplish are yours. If you don't get them done it’s you and only you who may or may not be disappointed.”
Now, how would you read the same lines coming from a place of sincerity, respect and non-judgment?
What ‘place’ do you come from as you read your emails?
