WOW: NOW

One of the reasons I have not posted lately is because I've been on a trip through the present. I know it sounds silly, but when you read "a new earth, awakening to your life's purpose" by Eckhart Tolle, this is exactly what could happen to you.

To be honest it's hard to talk about his book, you have to read it and feel it within you. This is not material "to understand", you don't need to be of certain age, or have a certain education, you are ready for it or not yet. Eckhart even recommends to put the book away for a while if it does not make any sense to you.

It is about becoming conscious, transcending your ego and discovering your true, 'bare' Self. You are not your thoughts, you are not your history, and you are not your body, and the moment you think: "I don't know who I am anymore" you're getting close to meet your true Self ;-)

WOW, is the word that comes out of my mouth during reading almost every page. It's a beautiful, peaceful, serene, and sacred, feeling. Again, it's an experience that goes beyond words.

I feel like I've been invited to become a student of the Universe, a privileged feeling, and very exiting indeed. I am getting better at observing myself and being more in the present moment. I enjoy things much intenser, and I am less affected by external things.

I feel that I am disconnecting from identifying myself with my past, and I am less concerned about the future. I realize that there really is only NOW, yet I can enjoy taking inspired action (while being present) for something I'd like to accomplish.

Geez, forgive me if this all sounds like lala land bla bla to you...JUST READ THIS BOOK!

Love to you, YOXOMO

http://eckharttolle.com

GOT HO'OPONOPONO?

"Change the world and start with yourself" makes sense and that is what HO'OPONOPONO entails if you wish to describe it in simple terms. For me it means I take 100% responsibility for anything that happens in my daily life, and this is not an easy exercise! We are such a blaming society, yet this blaming game does not provide us with any relief or solutions. When you take response-ability you empower yourself and you are inspired to create solutions instead of more barriers.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ho'oponopono is a Hawaiian word for a form of family or personal therapy.

Practitioners believe it is an ancient Hawaiian practice. To date, the earliest documentation of a practice called ho'oponopono is from the Hawaiian language newspaper, Kuokoa in 1863. Mary Kawena Pukui recorded her experiences and observations from her childhood (born 1895) in her 1958 book. (Handy & Pukui; Chai, 2007)

Pukui described it as a practice of extended family members meeting to try to "make right" broken family relations ("making right" is the literal translation of the Hawaiian term). Traditional ho’oponopono sessions include "prayer, discussion, confession, repentance, mutual restitution, and forgiveness." (Cody)

In the 1980s, Morrnah Simeona developed what she called an updated and streamlined version of ho'oponopono that is practiced by the individual alone. Her practice continues to be taught by her students in Hawai'i, including Ramsay Taum, and Ihaleakala Hew Len, Ph.D[1]. According to Hew Len, ho'oponopono is a Hawaiian healing process based on the principles of total responsibility, taking responsibility for every one's actions. He says if one would take complete responsibility for one's life, then everything one would see, hear, taste, touch, or in any way experience is one's responsibility because it is in one's life. Total Responsibility advocates that everything exists as a projection from inside the human being. The problem isn't with our external reality, it is with ourselves and to change our reality, we would have to change ourselves.

HO'OPONOPONO
By Joe Vitale (excerpt)

"Two years ago, I heard about a therapist in Hawaii who cured a complete ward of criminally insane patients--without ever seeing any of them. The psychologist would study an inmate's chart and then look within himself to see how he created that person's illness. As he improved himself, the patient improved.

"When I first heard this story, I thought it was an urban legend. How could anyone heal anyone else by healing himself? How could even the best self-improvement master cure the criminally insane? It didn't make any sense. It wasn't logical, so I dismissed the story.

"However, I heard it again a year later. I heard that the therapist had used a Hawaiian healing process called ho 'oponopono. I had never heard of it, yet I couldn't let it leave my mind. If the story was at all true, I had to know more. I had always understood "total responsibility" to mean that I am responsible for what I think and do. Beyond that, it's out of my hands. I think that most people think of total responsibility that way. We're responsible for what we do, not what anyone else does--but that's wrong.

"The Hawaiian therapist who healed those mentally ill people would teach me an advanced new perspective about total responsibility. His name is Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len. We probably spent an hour talking on our first phone call. I asked him to tell me the complete story of his work as a therapist. He explained that he worked at Hawaii State Hospital for four years. That ward where they kept the criminally insane was dangerous.

Psychologists quit on a monthly basis. The staff called in sick a lot or simply quit. People would walk through that ward with their backs against the wall, afraid of being attacked by patients. It was not a pleasant place to live, work, or visit.

"Dr. Len told me that he never saw patients. He agreed to have an office and to review their files. While he looked at those files, he would work on himself. As he worked on himself, patients began to heal.

"'After a few months, patients that had to be shackled were being allowed to walk freely,' he told me. 'Others who had to be heavily medicated were getting off their medications. And those who had no chance of ever being released were being freed.' I was in awe.'Not only that,' he went on, 'but the staff began to enjoy coming to work. Absenteeism and turnover disappeared. We ended up with more staff than we needed because patients were being released, and all the staff was showing up to work. Today, that ward is closed.'

"This is where I had to ask the million dollar question: 'What were you doing within yourself that caused those people to change?'

"'I was simply healing the part of me that created them,' he said. I didn't understand. Dr. Len explained that total responsibility for your life means that everything in your life- simply because it is in your life--is your responsibility. In a literal sense the entire world is your creation.

"Whew. This is tough to swallow. Being responsible for what I say or do is one thing. Being responsible for what everyone in my life says or does is quite another. Yet, the truth is this: if you take complete responsibility for your life, then everything you see, hear, taste, touch, or in any way experience is your responsibility because it is in your life. This means that terrorist activity, the president, the economy or anything you experience and don't like--is up for you to heal. They don't exist, in a manner of speaking, except as projections from inside you. The problem isn't with them, it's with you, and to change them, you have to change you.

"I know this is tough to grasp, let alone accept or actually live. Blame is far easier than total responsibility, but as I spoke with Dr. Len, I began to realize that healing for him and in ho 'oponopono means loving yourself.

"If you want to improve your life, you have to heal your life. If you want to cure anyone, even a mentally ill criminal you do it by healing you.

"I asked Dr. Len how he went about healing himself. What was he doing, exactly, when he looked at those patients' files?

"'I just kept saying, 'I'm sorry' and 'I love you' over and over again,' he explained.

"That's it?

"That's it.

"Turns out that loving yourself is the greatest way to improve yourself, and as you improve yourself, you improve your world.

"Let me give you a quick example of how this works: one day, someone sent me an email that upset me. In the past I would have handled it by working on my emotional hot buttons or by trying to reason with the person who sent the nasty message.

"This time, I decided to try Dr. Len's method. I kept silently saying, 'I'm sorry' and 'I love you,' I didn't say it to anyone in particular. I was simply evoking the spirit of love to heal within me what was creating the outer circumstance.

"Within an hour I got an e-mail from the same person. He apologized for his previous message. Keep in mind that I didn't take any outward action to get that apology. I didn't even write him back. Yet, by saying 'I love you,' I somehow healed within me what was creating him.
---------------------

My apologies, my love and my appreciation,

HO'OPONOPONO MO

GROWING UP OR OLD

I can't vouch for the validity, but the story is good nonetheless.

Growing Up or Growing Old
By: Author Unknown

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and
challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know.
I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my
shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old
lady beaming up at me with a Smile that lit up her entire
being.

She said, "Hi, handsome! My name is Rose. I'm 87 years old.
Can I give you a hug?"

I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you
may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.

"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I
asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich
husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then
retire and travel."

"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have
motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm
getting one!" she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and
shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends.
Every day for the next three months we would leave class
together and talk nonstop.

I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as
she shared her wisdom and experience with me. Over the
course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily
made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and
she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the
other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our
football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She
was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to
deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her 3x5 cards on
the floor.

Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the
microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I
gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll
never get my speech back in order, so let me just tell you
what I know." As we laughed, she cleared her throat and
began:

"We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old
because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to
staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have
to laugh and find humor everyday. You've got to have a
dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many
people walking around who are dead, and they don't even know
it!" she said.

"There is a huge difference between growing older and
growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for
one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will
turn 20 years old. If I am 87 years old, and stay in bed for
a year, and never do anything, I will turn 88. Anybody can
grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability," she
added.

"The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in
change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have
regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not
do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."

She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose."
She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them
out in our daily lives.

At the years end, Rose finished the college degree she had
begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose
died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college
students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful
woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be
all you can possibly be.

Thanks to Jim for sharing this story.

1000 MARBLES

A good friend shared this story with me and I had to share it with you, enjoy!

1000 marbles
By: Author Unknown

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps
it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to
rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at
work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning
are most enjoyable.

I'm a Ham radio operator and spend some time working with
radios and electronics. So when I heard this story it really
made me think! I hope that you will find some application in
your own life as well...

A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the basement shack
with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning
paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday
morning, turned into one of those lessons that life seems to
hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it.

I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on
my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap
net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap,
with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the
kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting
business. He was telling whoever he was talking with
something about "a thousand marbles."

I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say.
"Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job.
I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be
away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a
young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a
week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter's
dance recital."

He continued, "Let me tell you something Tom, something that
has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities."
And that's when he began to explain his theory of "a thousand
marbles."

"You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic.
The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know,
some live more and some live less, but on average, folks
live about seventy-five years."

"Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900
which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has
in their entire lifetime. Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting
to the important part."

"It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about
all this in any detail," he went on, "and by that time I had
lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to
thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had
about a thousand of them left to enjoy."

"So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble
they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to
roundup 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside
of a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack
next to my gear. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one
marble out and thrown it away."

"I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused
more on the really important things in life. There is
nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out
to help get your priorities straight."

"Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with
you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning,
I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure
if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a
little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a
little more time."

"It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time
with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the
band. 75 year Old Man, this is K9NZQ, clear and going QRT,
good morning!"

You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow
signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I
had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I
was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next
club newsletter. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife
up with a kiss.

"C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast."

"What brought this on?" she asked with a smile.

"Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we
spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at
a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles."

HAVE A GREAT WEEK... and may ALL of your Saturdays be
special!

TIME

Short caption for the Time cover I made; Joe Vitale talked about a magazine cover he made in one of his recent blog posts as a way to connect a feeling to a future outcome. That is just what I did with my Time cover, and I must say it feels great to see my work on that cover and it fuels my faith in "anything is possible"!

YOXOMO

SYNCHRONICITY

More about this image (I made about a year ago) and synchronicity later.
It's not a real cover but a visualization and inspirational tool.

Ananda, Mo

THOUGHTS ARE THE SEEDS

One of the most prevalent discussions about The Secret is about people thinking that just focusing on something will eventually get you what you want. Bill Harris talks about this magical thinking on his blog http://www.centerpointe.com/blog/ and states that this is the way to not getting what you want. Another "Secret" teacher Mike Dooley www.tut.com says: "thoughts become things."

When I started to review my thoughts I got really scared because I was thinking things I did not want to happen and I realized things happened in my life I'd never thought of...how is this possible?

After reading The Passion Test by Janet and Chris Attwood I finally realized there are more key factors to your thoughts coming true. Your mind tricks you, you might think you want A, but deep down it's really B that you have a passion for. So first you have to be really clear about what you really want in your life. Janet and Chris developed an easy process to get down to your top 5 passions, be warned you might surprise yourself! ;-)

Thoughts related to your passions are the seeds you plant, then you need to give it attention, or as others have called it "take inspired action". You need to water your seeds and feed it, weed it. When you are clear, your actions speak for themselves, you know which action will help you to get a step closer and which ones will not.

Then you'll have to let it grow, let it go, sit back, relax and enjoy watching your seed maturing in a beautiful flower or tree. In this phase you remain without tension. Intention-attention-no tension.

I am no longer afraid of my thoughts, I just laugh and let go. No matter how often I thought about getting a flat tire because I had over 50.000 miles on them, I did NOT get a flat tire!

One other thing I'd like to mention, I am so grateful for Chris and Janet describing the following: "... spirituality and wealth are complimentary, not mutually exclusive, ways of living life." My belief that it was an impossible combination was one of my major psychological roadblocks and this one sentence was enough for me to finally let it go, wow what a great feeling!!

I can continue to write about this wonderful book, but I'd like you to read it for yourself. Interesting...my puzzle keeps growing and I keep finding more puzzle pieces!

Find yourself and become more of it!

YOXOMO