It's better to give than to receive." You've probably heard that popular saying.
From the Bible, Acts 20.
"In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, `It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
When you give something from your heart without expecting anything in return, you release a powerful force that will trigger your good deed to "bounce" back to you in amazing, and sometimes unusual ways.
I firmly believe that whatever you impart to others will come back to you a hundred fold. You are doing yourself abig favor by helping someone in need. By doing even the smallest acts of generosity, you are inviting good vibrations to come into your life.
Speaking of happiness, the act of giving can summon the spirit of joy to come into your heart. How would you feel when you’ve given something to your less fortunate neighbors? Let me tell you that nothing could brighten up my day more than hearing them express their most heartfelt gratitude and seeing their smiles extend from ear to ear.
Giving is also a healthy habit. It could prolong your life by in stilling within you an inner sense of peace and accomplishment.
Just like all things in life, giving has its limitations. Being too generous can have its toll. Your kindness might be taken advantage of and people might abuse your good intentions. Beware of individuals who are continuously seeking your aid. It's better to teach them how to solve their problems than to always attend to their needs.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Friday, June 16, 2006
The Beauty of Life
"An unexamined life is not worth living."-- Socrates
I have just finished reading a most astounding statement from A.H. Almaas's book Space cruiser Inquiry. In this book, which discusses the concept of open inquiry as an optimal way to get in touch with your true being, he gives a beautiful description of the beauty of life. The simplicity and beauty of this sentence struck me hard! He says, "The beauty of life is that it can be a continuous opening to the full range of experience and richness possible for the human being."
This was an extremely beautiful quote and had a very true ring to it. Life CAN be lived to be a continuous opening to the full range of experience and richness possible for the human being. In life you can find out what you're capable of doing; to continually explore, and then act on the discovery of that exploration to create more experiences to learn and grow even more. You can learn to become more flexible. You can start to experiment with your range; what you are capable of doing with your life. What you choose to do can be below the range of what you can do, but that is your choice; not a limitation that you are unaware of.
The important distinction is that you become aware of your full range of possibilities and then choose which possibility you want to act on rather than being limited because you are unaware of what you can do. Life offers us this chance to continually open up and become more aware of the powers that are residing within us. Are you using the change for this kind of growing that life offers? On the other hand, have you stopped inquiring and accepted the limited position, which tells you that you can't grow further? What you believe will determine what you do about exploring your true being and capabilities. What will you believe?
I have just finished reading a most astounding statement from A.H. Almaas's book Space cruiser Inquiry. In this book, which discusses the concept of open inquiry as an optimal way to get in touch with your true being, he gives a beautiful description of the beauty of life. The simplicity and beauty of this sentence struck me hard! He says, "The beauty of life is that it can be a continuous opening to the full range of experience and richness possible for the human being."
This was an extremely beautiful quote and had a very true ring to it. Life CAN be lived to be a continuous opening to the full range of experience and richness possible for the human being. In life you can find out what you're capable of doing; to continually explore, and then act on the discovery of that exploration to create more experiences to learn and grow even more. You can learn to become more flexible. You can start to experiment with your range; what you are capable of doing with your life. What you choose to do can be below the range of what you can do, but that is your choice; not a limitation that you are unaware of.
The important distinction is that you become aware of your full range of possibilities and then choose which possibility you want to act on rather than being limited because you are unaware of what you can do. Life offers us this chance to continually open up and become more aware of the powers that are residing within us. Are you using the change for this kind of growing that life offers? On the other hand, have you stopped inquiring and accepted the limited position, which tells you that you can't grow further? What you believe will determine what you do about exploring your true being and capabilities. What will you believe?
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Building Bridges, Not Walls!
Only twenty years ago, people would casually stroll the neighborhood, stop and chat with each other or walk down the street and greet you cordially. Nowadays people walk at a very fast pace and for the most part just walk past you looking at the ground lost in their own thoughts. It seems less people will say hello to a stranger.
Therefore, it seems to a lesser degree with family and friends. Have we in this society lost some of our ability to communicate? Are we so involved in our own problems that we just don't really see people anymore?
There is a misconception that if you are talking to someone that you are communicating. This is not necessarily so. There is a difference between talking at someone and actually communicating. Talking at someone and not allowing an exchange of ideas does not promote a harmonious situation or solutions to a situation. For real communication to occur, an exchange of ideas needs to occur for understanding and possible resolutions.
Our society today its all about anything that makes things quick and easy. Unfortunately this does not always work, especially if you are trying to resolve something.
One thing I have noticed is that people tend to put all their attention on the things we don't like in our spouse, friend or co-worker. If this is all you can put your attention on then you are doomed to a separation and ill feelings to that individual.
Here is something that I would suggest you try, no matter how bad your relationship is. We of course all have baggage no matter who you are. There is no such thing as a perfect person. So that said, knowing that we all have something that will annoy people, I suggest that you find something to admire about that individual. Everyone has good or strong points so if you start to focus on that instead of all things bad you may be amazed to find, oh my god, there is good there too. This is what you saw in the first place that drew you to that person. If you do this enough, your feelings will revert to the original way you felt about that person. This is what I mean about building bridges, not walls. It is very easy to build walls but if you learn to find what is good in people, you will build bridges instead. How fine is that!
Therefore, it seems to a lesser degree with family and friends. Have we in this society lost some of our ability to communicate? Are we so involved in our own problems that we just don't really see people anymore?
There is a misconception that if you are talking to someone that you are communicating. This is not necessarily so. There is a difference between talking at someone and actually communicating. Talking at someone and not allowing an exchange of ideas does not promote a harmonious situation or solutions to a situation. For real communication to occur, an exchange of ideas needs to occur for understanding and possible resolutions.
Our society today its all about anything that makes things quick and easy. Unfortunately this does not always work, especially if you are trying to resolve something.
One thing I have noticed is that people tend to put all their attention on the things we don't like in our spouse, friend or co-worker. If this is all you can put your attention on then you are doomed to a separation and ill feelings to that individual.
Here is something that I would suggest you try, no matter how bad your relationship is. We of course all have baggage no matter who you are. There is no such thing as a perfect person. So that said, knowing that we all have something that will annoy people, I suggest that you find something to admire about that individual. Everyone has good or strong points so if you start to focus on that instead of all things bad you may be amazed to find, oh my god, there is good there too. This is what you saw in the first place that drew you to that person. If you do this enough, your feelings will revert to the original way you felt about that person. This is what I mean about building bridges, not walls. It is very easy to build walls but if you learn to find what is good in people, you will build bridges instead. How fine is that!
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Tips for Successful Living
1. Constant affirmation without accountability is a sure-fire way to cripple a child. In other words, belief in you without responsibility leads to a sense of entitlement.
2. Raise your hand if you've ever been rejected for anything, anytime, anywhere. We all have. How would you like to have a nice little four-letter word for the next time you're rejected? It's: NEXT. Next sale, next job, next date, next whatever.
3. Beware of people who use their own emotional pain as a tool to manipulate others instead of as a motivation to change themselves.
4. It's a humbling and sobering experience to have a child who wants to be like you.
5. A successful marriage requires selective and strategic ignoring. The right things to ignore are little habits and irritating peculiarities that we all have. The problem comes when you select the wrong things to ignore.
6. I wonder if it's a bad thing to believe that football on TV is one of the first signs of fall approaching.
7. Most folks live with the illusion that worrying about something can actually make a difference. The only possible way that worrying can make a difference is if the worrying motivates you to take action to do something about the subject of your worry.
8.People often say, "Well, I'm just going with the flow." The problem with going with the flow is that many times the flow is lost and does not know where it is going.
2. Raise your hand if you've ever been rejected for anything, anytime, anywhere. We all have. How would you like to have a nice little four-letter word for the next time you're rejected? It's: NEXT. Next sale, next job, next date, next whatever.
3. Beware of people who use their own emotional pain as a tool to manipulate others instead of as a motivation to change themselves.
4. It's a humbling and sobering experience to have a child who wants to be like you.
5. A successful marriage requires selective and strategic ignoring. The right things to ignore are little habits and irritating peculiarities that we all have. The problem comes when you select the wrong things to ignore.
6. I wonder if it's a bad thing to believe that football on TV is one of the first signs of fall approaching.
7. Most folks live with the illusion that worrying about something can actually make a difference. The only possible way that worrying can make a difference is if the worrying motivates you to take action to do something about the subject of your worry.
8.People often say, "Well, I'm just going with the flow." The problem with going with the flow is that many times the flow is lost and does not know where it is going.
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