Whatever you focus on, you magnify

You would never have a dream in your heart without having the ability to realize it.  You may not feel like you're able to do something, but as you dare to take a step forward, you discover that you're able to do exactly what you set your mind to do.  Not everyone will be as excited as your dreams as you.  Don't change your dreams for your critics.  How would that help you?  Share your enthusiasm.  Inspire other people to rethink their own dreams instead.

Don't let the size of your dream discourage you from believing its possible. Have you ever thought your dreams are too big for you? that the nature of your vision is setting you up for a fall?  Remind yourself you are the reason why your dreams are ignored, disregarded or realized.  If you aren't content with where you are and what you've done, it all starts on the inside of you.

When was the last time that you focused on the things you wanted to see happen in your life? This opens your heart up.  This prepares you for the power of the law of attraction to do its positive work in your life.  If you aren't content with what you experience, you can evolve to trust that this is a test to help you live a more meaningful life.  Why not change your perspective? Recognize that how you think influences the life you are creating for yourself.

Its not only a saint that can live this life with dignity.  From the moment you begin to feel useless, just when you begin to feel you have nothing to focus your attention on, this is precisely the time to make room for the life you want.  It starts in your mind.  You can reinforce it in writing on paper and in words as you speak.  Reach out ot explore all your senses.   How can they reinforce your goals? Magnify the life you truly seek to live.

Awakening love from within

Love can't betray you because it has nothing to do with possession.  Any person who acts in such a way as to betray love is actually betraying something deeper inside about the self.  Ask yourself what potential lies within you that isn't being explored in your relationships.  Why do you withhold? Is this a clue to forgotten fears? 

When it comes to love, some people experience it and others don't.  No force or person can draw it out of you.  You can pretend you love someone and get used to that person, but is that the same as love?  To live in compliance with someone, to create a life with them even if you sense a nagging emptiness, suggests something significant is missing. 

Love can awaken repressed energy.  To love freely is to encourage people around you to love openly as well.  What does this mean?  As you learn to give free reign to your imagination, as you learn to take chances in relationships and tell the difference between pleasure and pain, you will experience different stages.  Love gives your life meaning.  It is also a new kind of test. 

Love gives you the courage to take risks and to throw your life off balance.  Don't be afraid to make choices that aren't on a map.  It's precisely through such experiences that you develop deeper compassion and move forward to allow stronger love to emerge.  Remind yourself what is right before your eyes.  The joy of being alive.  Is that not a true manifestation of a miracle? 

The euphoria at your fingertips leads to unanswered questions.  In order to understand the powers of love accessible inside, let negative thoughts surface; expectations, doubt, fear, and eliminate them.  Learn to feel good, to accept who you are and learn how you can connect with others.  Secrets will be revealed. 

Doing the right thing

"How do you know if you're doing the right thing? I come to you for answers."

"Why do you ask that?"

The anxious woman waited in earnest for an answer.

Initially, the calm woman was silent.

"Okay, my instinct tells me I acted with good intentions. I didn’t think I knew what I was doing and then the answers came. I gained confidence as I made choices and proved I could do things."  Her heart was pulsating. 

"If this is so, why do you doubt yourself and why come to me?"

"I didn’t get results I wanted. People didn’t react as I imagined. They didn’t praise and openly admire my efforts."

"So, your view of success is based not on cause or motivation, but on the nature of your effect? Consider the hidden reasons for your discontent. Seek to understand yourself."

"I'd say I’m completely unsatisfied with what I’ve done, with what I’ve received, with what I know, and with what I have."

"Precisely. What do you sense beyond this superficial dissatisfaction?"

"It's as if there’s part of me I ignore, though I have no idea why.  This part of me craves attention, and deserves respect, but just doesn’t get it."

"Curious. Doesn’t get respect from whom?"

"Why, I suppose, from myself as well as from anyone who knew about it, if anyone did." 

"See my point. Don’t let yourself be too influenced by what other people think as a measurement or evaluation of your efforts. Seek instead the recognize what the behavior of others mirrors about your hidden self."

"What do I want then?"

"You tell me.  It appears you have all the answers.  To be happy itself may be too simple. I sense you desire to live life as intensely as possible, to be aware of danger, to live life on the edge, to recognize the woman on the other side of the mirror, without needing other people to help."

"Is all that possible? "

"Anything is possible if you choose to take the risk. You’ve already chosen to go further than most people. Look how far you've come."

"But I’m not most people!"

"No, that's true.  But the fact that you make your life more difficult than it has to be makes the experiences more thrilling somehow.  Doing the right thing for you requires unconditional love, self-acceptance and self-respect."

"Is that all?  Well, I've been known to fit in 6 impossible things before breakfast." 

"If its a challenge, then believe its an invisible fire in your soul.  Defend those inner passions."   

Advice from the Dalai Lama

I felt fortunate to attend a presentation by His Holiness the Dalai Lama during his Australian tour. For a considerable time, I suppose I’ve admired the man from a distance. In person, his humbleness is evident in his gestures and how he shares his observations.  He offered points worthy of reflection which can be references for personal growth initiatives.

Tolerance. All religious traditions have the same potential and all carry the same message, of love and compassion. He invites every person to look inside to develop an attitude and values that promote self-acceptance.  We can also learn open-mindedness concerning other people and their ways of perceiving. He encourages you not to impose yourself or beliefs on others.

Harmony. Aspects of your conditions are like fire under water. Realize that fire evaporates water, and water puts out fire. Change often causes conflict and conflict invites change. This image describes what happens in life when things need stirring up because you seek a new kind of balance. Dramatic change can lead to harmony.  Inner peace is a mental state you can develop.

Chaos vs order. Revolutionary change points to a time when chaos arises from order. Realize that not all order is good, and not all chaos bad. Chaos can be an integral part of the way of things. Have courage to radically change and renew the way you see and portray yourself. In this way, you can create chaos as a means to disrupt what isn’t working in your life, and you will unleash a new power and energy. If engaging in a negotiation, change the rules where it suits. If composing a piece of music, add the unexpected. If courting a lover, dare to be unconventional.

Love & Compassion. As you reach out to all living beings, including our so-called enemies, those people who upset or hurt us. Irrespective of what they do to you, if you remind yourself all beings are like you are simply trying to be happy, you will find it much easier to develop compassion towards them. Usually your sense of compassion is limited and biased. We extend such feelings only towards our family and friends or those help us. People we perceive as enemies and others to whom we are indifferent are excluded from our concern. That is not genuine compassion. True compassion is universal, unconditional and comes with a sense of responsibility. To act altruistically, is to be concerned for the welfare of others, with no selfish or ulterior motives.

Controversy, PR stunt or more?

Controversy stimulates our minds and causes us to question our choices.  Many fiction authors are seen to write as a means of catharsis, as a means of easing emotions of loneliness, fear, grief and isolation for their readers.  Provoking controversy is also an outlet for authors to explore themselves.  Even fantasy may contain elements of reality. How can we verify?

The idea of dreaming up controversies can also sell books.  Some of your favorite books may not get nearly as much attention as you think they deserve.  Little do we realize how much and what kind of attention authors will receive. Would all notoriety be good for authors and  books? 

Many viewpoints have been expressed about books which raise controversy and question the limits of censorship and freedom of speech.  Consider the reasons for public outcries about books you would or would not choose to read. The following are samples of books which repeatedly raise eybrows. What are your own views? 

1) Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

2) 1984 by George Orwell

3) Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck

4) Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

5) Forever by Judy Blume 

6) Brave New World  by Aldous Huxley

7) The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

8) I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

9) Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

10) The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

11) The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

12) The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

13) The Bible by ~40 authors over a period of about 1500 years