Are You Preparing Now For 2007?

Now that 2006 is drawing to a close, it is time to review and reflect on what has been achieved. It is also an ideal time to start preparing for 2007 so that it can be the best year of your life so far. After all, success is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent preparation and perspiration. As part of preparing to move forward into 2007, it is worthwhile to conduct your own ‘year in review’ looking at both the highs and lows that you have experienced in all aspects of your life. To help with this, here are some questions you may want to reflect on: Did you accomplish your... Read more »

The Secret Shield of Gratitude

As life reveals its ups and downs, it is important to be able to face circumstance with as much fortitude and consistency as possible. One way to harness the power of life’s best defense against misfortune is to deliberately face life with gratitude. This is no Pollyanna call to simply look “at the bright side of life” for its own sake, but it is an injunction based on an understanding and interpretation what some philosophers and authors have called The Law of Attraction. The idea of the Law of Attraction is simple. You bring into your world... Read more »

The Secret of Gratitude and Forgiveness

There are two exciting, untapped powers in the universe that are at everyone’s disposal. They are gratitude and forgiveness. They are both powers that allow you to restructure your relationship to the universe and to amplify your ability to attract to yourself the good that is allotted to you. The two powers are closely connected. A minister once talked about stumbling around in his backyard at night with a flashlight- looking for a small Christmas tree that he needed to bring in the house. In his search, by accident he knocked over the tree and its... Read more »

When the Universe Frowns Upon You, Can You Smile Back?

Everyday, we confront unexpected events in our lives, many of which throw us into a spin. An important relationship goes south, we fail a test, we get a speeding ticket, we lose our job. The universe seems to frown on us and all is not well. In an HBO film called Everyday People, written and directed by Jim McCay, Arthur, the manager of a Brooklyn restaurant, has to inform his employees of the impending closing of the restaurant. In the film, the employees explode with anger, hatred, resentment and frustration at the overwhelmed manager, lowering themselves to the level of ethnic epithets and character assassination. Although definitely negative, the employees’ reaction externally is not that unrealistic.... Read more »

The Secret of Finding Your Way With Gratitude

In the stormy waves of life, it is easy to get lost. Car accidents, sudden break-ups in friendships and in love, the loss of a job or a contract- all these things create an insecurity in life and questions about, if indeed, we are connected to a Higher Reality. How do we deal with such a problem? How do we get out of the subterranean, semi-conscious fears that besiege us when we get into these dark corridors? In an ancient Greek myth, Jason finds himself lost in the cave of the Minotaur. But Ariadne, the king’s daughter, decides to help him and gives him a golden thread by which he can escape. When we are lost and, internally, are somewhat terrorized by our situation, what can we do to find respite and hope? One way... Read more »

The Secret of Using Jiu-Jitsu on the Universe

Events that take place in one’s life are certainly more subtle than they might appear. But sometimes the universe presents us with unexpected situations that seem too big for us to bear. How do we respond to these events? Is our current methodology of responding the best we can do? In the Big Picture, if one believes in an afterlife, then death itself and its meaning certain can carry with it a big question mark. In terms of unexpected and seemingly negative events- like the loss of a job, the end of a long friendship, a demand for payment on money you just don’t have- can seem like a negative event. But sometimes that very negative even can force us to find a better job, a more enduring relationship and a better, faster and more profitable way to make. But that, sometimes requires us to take... Read more »

The Triumph of Gratitude

Human existence is continually experienced on many different levels- part waking, part semi-conscious and part unconscious. Since the earliest development of reflective consciousness, men have realized that these elements are often at war with each other. In fact, the mission of many psychological systems is to expose the hidden elements of the human spirit and bring them into conscious experience and ultimately into harmony with other elements of the human mind. According to a recent film, The Secret, a great deal of human experience is conditioned by one’s thoughts and feelings. In the view of the fifty-two teachers of psychology, philosophy, metaphysics, science, finance, health and other... Read more »

Your New Year Can Mean New Opportunities

The end of the year has always been a good time to reflect. A time to look back on the past year but also to look forward to the New Year and years to come. A new year means new opportunities, a new chance to make changes and work on various aspects of your life that you feel could use some improvement. Of course there are the standard new year’s resolutions: stop smoking, drink less, eat healthier, make more money, spend less, save more, invest wiser, be nicer, spend more time on the people you love. This short list probably takes care of well over 90% of all New Year’s resolutions. Unfortunately most people don’t get much... Read more »

Dreaming in Small Steps

It’s such a small thing, folding a towel and folding it without wrinkles. The edges are all even. The little tag is on the inside where it won’t be seen. The towel lays flat, ready to be stacked with the others. Seems like such a tiny thing, but folding a towel properly is important. With this small thing comes a good feeling, a feeling of accomplishment. Pride in a thing well done. No one is going to know about this little thing you’ve accomplished. You’re not going to broadcast... Read more »

Visualization - Practice Makes Perfect

“Practice makes perfect” or so the saying goes. The troubled is that often we simply do not have either the time or the opportunity to practice things in the real world. However there is a very powerful technique known as “Visualization” that is used by many world-class athletes to boost their performance on the field. Applying this same technique to other aspect of life enables a person to practice things mentally, before encountering the real event. Visualization is the process... Read more »