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I met Paul Newman once. Well, actually, I stood next to him crossing a street in Atlantic City, New Jersey at the Democratic National Convention that was being held there. I had always spent summers at the Shore as we had a beach house there when I was growing up. That summer, 1964, I was 16 years old. I had volunteered to work as an usher seating people at the Convention. One night, after finishing my job, I was heading to the corner to “catch a jitney” ride home (sort of a mini-bus unique to Atlantic City culture) when, waiting for the light to change to green so I could cross, I turned to glance at the man standing next to me who was also waiting to cross and, well, yes, it was Paul Newman.  

Now a 16-year-old girl in 1964 standing next to Paul Newman has just one thought: Don’t faint. I actually remember thinking that. I also remember beginning to stutter, literally, trying to get out the words, “Are you really Paul Newman?”…as if a possible answer might have been, “No, not really.”  Anyway he was gracious and kind to the obviously star-struck and inarticulate teenager…a situation I think he must have been very used to…and he made a comment or two before the light changed and we both crossed.

Today he died at age 83.

What I am most awed by is not his eyes or his movie career or the longevity of his celebrity marriage in an age when celebrities can’t seem to stay married longer than the time it takes to make a movie. I am most awed by his foresight and charitable nature. He seemed to get, earlier than most, how connected we all are and how giving is the one sure path to personal satisfaction, not to mention material wealth.

There is a short video clip on Newman’s Own website today that is a brief interview with him that appears to be quite recent. If I heard it right, and I listened to it twice, he actually says “goodbye” at the end and it’s not a gratuitous goodbye…its the goodbye of a man who knows he is dying and is saying it from a place deep inside his soul. In that clip he speaks about the need, his need, to help others… particularly children, the poor, the elderly and the Earth. And help he did, having given 100% of the proceeds from his company Newman’s Own, $250,000,000, to charitable causes. 

When my father passed away 9 years ago a Rabbi told me that the best way to honor a life is to take something that was admirable about that life and become it. Perpetuate it. Carry it forward. I think we could do a lot worse than honoring Paul Newman’s life in this way. If each of us could come to understand how connected We All Are and that the greatest personal satisfaction and wealth come from giving…I believe this to be the winning combination for successfully moving beyond the economic, environmental and societal challenges we face.

Only when we care about, respect and support each other as well as the Earth with all It’s life forms will we turn this around and end the blight that is upon us and return to a state of balanced well-being.

It has been 44 years since I stood next to, and gazed into, those riveting blue eyes. Today I learned for the first time that those eyes were, in fact, colorblind. Maybe Paul Newman was not able to see color but he saw something much more important.

He saw Oneness and made the world a better place for it.

Let’s keep up the good work.

REMEMBER to click here to download my FREE e-book, “Too Many Secrets.”

Somebody
should remind the President of Iran that it isn’t over ‘til the fat lady sings.
He’s been heard of late at the U.N. and on Larry King Live (of all places!) heralding
the demise of the United States. You can’t blame a guy for jumping on (for that
matter leading) the bandwagon of Doomsayers who are intent on painting the current
U.S. economic crunch as an indisputable sign ushering in the End of Days.
After all, what kind of harbingers of disaster would they be to squander such a
golden opportunity to bolster their dark view of human evolution?

To
panic or not to panic: that is the question.

You can relax. I have the answer.
Well, actually Nature has the answer.

I’m just the messenger.

Nature
is where I’ve always looked for the answers to dilemmas that seem to elude
humankind. I just figured out early on in Life that any intelligence that was
capable of creating a system so complex, diverse, inherently in balance,
self-sustaining and just plain visually magnificent had pretty much calculated
and provided for all the possible combinations and permutations that might
arise. So, the answers were actually built into the problems. Hence, every
problem is an opportunity to uncover the answer within.

This
brings me to the caterpillar, metamorphosis and the butterfly.

It’s
a complicated process but let me sum it up. When a caterpillar has eaten enough
it turns into what is called a pupa. To do this it stops eating and finds
somewhere safe, becomes very still, molts its skin then grows a much thicker
and stronger one. A lot of the caterpillar’s
old body dies. It then sort of digests
itself from the inside out. Not all the tissue is destroyed and some of the
insect’s old tissue passes on to its new self. A new body is then formed out of the “soup”
that the insect’s digestive juices have made of the old larval body. This
rebuilding process is called histogenesis. During this time the insect is very vulnerable
because it cannot run away which is why insects try to choose somewhere safe to
hide when going through this incredible change.

Why
the lesson in metamorphosis in a blog about the economy?

The
President of Iran, in viewing our current economic crisis, sees the caterpillar
stewing in its own juices, so to speak. He is frozen in time and can’t see past
the moment. In reality he is witnessing the end of a growth phase and, because of his limited
understanding and perspective, thinks he is witnessing the end of the process itself. He is stuck in mourning the death of the
caterpillar and so cannot see the birth of the butterfly.

Which
is why the answer to the question “to panic or not to panic?” is: Not to panic!

What
the economy and our entire value system
are experiencing is the natural process
of moving us from caterpillar to butterfly. Yes it’s a trying time. Yes we will
have to find a safe place in which to do this internal work. Yes we will have
to shed some skin in order to make room for new, improved cells to take root
and multiply. And yes we will have to rebuild.

The
important point to remember is that this so-called “problem” is really an opportunity
for us to transform ourselves and our nation into something much more beautiful,
while also remembering that the answer to the future is locked away inside the
caterpillar…inside us.

Inherent
in our crisis is the answer to it. Nature is designed that way and we are a
part of Nature.

Only
by our willingness to shed the skin in which we have become complacent and by our
courage to see the process through…will we come to experience the beauty we are
truly capable of and, oh yes, to joyfully fly away leaving the Ahmadinejads
behind.

REMEMBER to click here to download my FREE e-book, “Too Many Secrets.”

>I couldn’t help wondering why I was so taken with the CNN photo image of Lehman Bros. headquarters on Wall Street this past week as the news broke of its pending bankruptcy following failed efforts to have it rescued by third parties. Then it hit me. It was almost seven years later, to the day, that the Lehman skyscraper image, with words of its pending financial collapse printed below, appeared on CNN…seven years to the day after 9/11.

What I was so taken with was the irony, no, not the irony but the connectivity, between the financial buildings on Wall Street that literally came tumbling down seven years ago and the ones now figuratively tumbling down… both before our very eyes.

I think one was a precursor of the other. It’s time we paid attention to the message, don’t you think?

I have listened in the past few days to Alan Greenspan and Suzy Ormond, the former being the “official” financial guru and the latter being the “populist” version, and I think they’re both wrong. Well, not wrong, just misguided. Remember when during the 1992 Presidential campaign Bil Clinton said, “It’s the economy, stupid”? Well, it’s sort of the economy now only not the way Clinton meant it. Back then he meant that George H.W. Bush was out of touch with the challenges faced by most Americans because Bush was a blue-blood elitist. 

Now, it’s about how we’ve prayed too long at the altar of money and material acquisitions…so much so…that we went too far astray from the meaning of Life and what loving Life, and one another, truly means. So, as with all things out of balance, our condition has required a “course correction.” 

The happenings in the financial market are a symptom…they are not the dis-ease.

We all feel it. Not just monetarily. We feel it in the stress we live with every day trying to keep pace with a reality controlled by the pace of technology. We feel it in the loss of meaningful relationships or even the time to cultivate them. We feel it in the frustrations we encounter trying to get adequate health care or even just a live person, rather than voice mail, to assist us in getting adequate health care. We feel it in the pressure of raising kids in a world where everything is so impersonal and where cheap, meaningless sex is so readily marketed in every medium.

Despite Barack Obama’s campaign slogan, it’s not about Change. Its about adaptation to change. We don’t need change. We already have it. We’re in it. Take a look around. Nothing is working like it used to. And that’s not a bad thing, either. It’s a good thing. Because things stopped “working” for us a while ago. We’ve been working for them. That change happened slowly over time…so slowly we missed the switchover. Only now are we waking up to the reality of where we find ourselves.

What we do about it is All That Matters.

In less than 60 days a new President of The United States will be elected and he (yes, it’s still a “he”) will take the oath of office a few months later.  As part of that oath he will swear to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution.  In so doing, might I suggest our next President spend less time bailing out the financial sector and trying to shore up a broken, misguided system of governmental corruption and more time inspiring this nation in what a call to greatness looks and feels like. This is the highest service he could perform for his nation at this time. To point the way out of darkness and towards the Light.  Inspiration is food for the Soul. This is what we truly hunger for…not a DOW over 13,000.

We, the United States of America, remain an experimental beacon of individual freedom, creativity and ingenuity. We have survived infancy, childhood and our teenage years. Will we now accept the personal responsibility of adulthood, seizing the moment to become the best we can be… or will we stay stuck in those rebellious teenage years where, if we cannot have it our way, we’ll just “throw a fit” and dig in our heels…until the rest of the world grows up and passes us by?

REMEMBER to click here to download my FREE e-book, “Too Many Secrets.”

> It was the end of a long, difficult day that was at the end
of a long difficult week that was at the end of a long difficult year. It was night time and I was lying in my bed,
hands covering my eyes, fighting a losing battle to hold back tears of
exhaustion and despair. On my dresser
across the room sat a Himalayan salt lamp that gave off a warm glow throughout the
room.

Just as I was thinking how the light from that lamp beyond my intertwined
fingers seemed to beckon me to find my way through the intervening darkness, I was suddenly transported back in time and space to a fun house I once
navigated through as a child. With that memory came an instantaneous tightening
in my stomach joined by shallow breathing, as I recalled the feeling of terror
I experienced in that dark, cavernous enclosure trying to feel my way through to daylight. As I reached out for something to hold onto that would help me navigate the interior, I recalled feeling terrified of the all the unknown sensations I might possibly
encounter.

Now, lying in my bed protected by both time and distance, I dared
ask myself “What was it that had been so terrifying in that fun house?”
The answer came without hesitation. It was the experience of being reduced to
only two things of which I might be certain and upon which I might rely: my own inner voice and the unknown. This realization
was, it turns out, the same feeling I am currently experiencing at the end of
this long, difficult year.

Going through divorce and the ending to what I believed
would be a lasting union, unable to work and on crutches from a fall that resulted in
a torn tendon in my foot, I found myself
alone and fundamentally unable to care for myself, my daughter, my animals or
my home. Yes friends helped out here and there (even my ex-husband stepped up, however briefly). But when for six weeks, just getting showered and downstairs in the
morning is about all you can do before feeling exhausted, well-meaning people
can only provide so much relief. At the end of the day, and the end of the day
has now lasted six weeks, I have been alone with only those same two things I could
count on back then in that fun house. My own inner voice and the unknown.

Yet, like the salt lamp whose glow beckoned me to move toward
the light across my bedroom, these six weeks have provided their own light.
Infinite Light.

Through all of the difficulties (and there have been seemingly
new ones heaped upon me each day) I’ve had the same beckoning sense that I am
being shown the way out of the darkness.I can say that for almost each difficulty, there has been as many signs
and miracles letting me know that I am not truly alone….that there is a
Presence… a protective and guiding Force… lighting the way. It has been my job,
as it was those many years ago, to be open to that Guidance from Within that is
the voice of All That Is and, rather than fear the unknown, to reach for it and
embrace it fully.

Darkness as a reality and darkness as symbolism is, for many
people, associated with fear. I think now I know the reason why. In darkness,
we are turned inward as the outer world is diminished or disappears
completely, depending on the degree of darkness.Absent light, we see only our inner selves. We
face what it is we really feel. We cannot distract ourselves from the path. We can only “feel” our way through, by reaching out and knowing that we may, along the way, indeed
encounter sights and sensations we would prefer to avoid.

But since paradox is the building block upon which our world
exists, within darkness exists the most profound opportunity to experience Illumination.
Infinite Light does not exist only for all time. It exists in all space. So when you enter into the darkness as I did in that fun house, or as I have
done in my life over the past several months, the undeniable knowing of that experience is that Light
is Who You Are and it is You Who Lights The Way. You are both the Light and the
Way.

Not being Christian, as I write those words I
none-the-less hear and feel the message of one of the many Master Teachers who
have walked, and continue to walk, this Earth. The teaching is golden.  As is the
Light it shines for those who are willing to brave the darkness within.

REMEMBER to click here to download my FREE e-book, “Too Many Secrets.”

>  
     Let’s start out with a disclosure: I’m a life-long registered Democrat. It’s important to get that on the table so you know I have no axe to grind here. What I am about to say is not in support of electing John McCain. Quite frankly, I don’t know what I will do come November 4th.  But there’s time yet to make that call and in the meantime, part of making that call is doing my homework and resolving, where possible, my concerns.  Now having explained this, here’s my concern.
    I’m concerned that millions of people in this country think that Barack Obama is going to save them. Save them from themselves. They are investing their energy and their hope in him rather than in themselves. So that when utopia does not finally appear by way of this particular candidate having occupied the White House, they can say yet again that politicians are all con artists and government has failed them once more.
    His acceptance speech was emotionally stirring and the visuals and lead up masterfully orchestrated. He’s a great orator oozing with charisma who is speaking the language people want to hear. Change is the word of the day and he perceived it and seized it from the get go. Good for him.
    But as I watched and listened to his acceptance speech, I heard promises of, quite frankly, miracle after miracle of what he is going to do. If you listened carefully, he’s going to fix just about every problem we have.  He’s never done the job before, or even one remotely like it; these problems have been around for decades; they are complex problems that require multifaceted solutions; they may even be problems that cannot be fixed but are instead systems and processes that are archaic and must be dismantled and replaced…but he’s going to fix them none-the-less.
    Having said all of that, it’s not him and his absolute knowing I’m concerned about. He’s a politician trying to get elected to a job he wants. He’ll say what we want to hear.
    It’s us I’m concerned about,
    It’s the significant portion of the population who thinks that change comes from anyone or anywhere other than from inside themselves.
    Our fundamental problems are social and moral.  You cannot legislate social conscience or morality. We have lost our way to technology and the endless consuming of things with disregard for the effect we have upon one another or the planet. We have not lost the capacity for compassion although we have lost the will to act upon that compassion. These are the roots of our suffering and neither Barack Obama nor any other individual can save us from ourselves.
    The job of repairing this nation is no different than the spiritual job of repairing the world. The concept, in Hebrew, is expressed as tikkun olam…repairing the world. And so when lasting change comes, it starts individually, one step at a time; one good deed at a time; one conscious choice at a time.  Lasting change happens in small ways, personal ways, once each of us decides to no longer choose expediency rather than meaning; more rather than enough; separation rather than unity; apathy rather than concern and, inaction rather than action. Lasting change is a slow and deliberate process during which we fall down many times before we are able to finally stand on our own solid footing.  It is not the single, momentary act of pulling a lever and electing a new President.
    When enough individuals continuously participate in the kinds of choices that effect lasting change, then the collective that we are as a nation will take on a different character and heightened emanation of it’s own…a character and emanation we can be proud that will show the way not only for we Americans but for the world as well.
    My caution about this election is to be alert and aware of the inappropriate investment in the illusion that Barack Obama,  or any other individual, can or will do it for us.
    Yes. The time is now. And Yes, we can.
    But this one’s for You. And Me.
    One conscious choice at a time.

REMEMBER to click here to download my FREE e-book, “Too Many Secrets.”
    
    
    
    
  

>
     Joe Biden presents a stunning opportunity to speak to the question of
whether a politician’s private life matters in relation to his or her
public service. In recent history, the likes of John Kennedy, Lyndon
Johnson, Gary Hart, Barney Frank, Bill Clinton, Jim McGreevy and most
recently, John Edwards have all been the object of scrutiny and
analysis for behavior in their private lives.  In fact, if time and
space permitted it, we could compile a list back to and including
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
    So the question is:
When electing a person to public office, how much does it matter who
they are privately vs. how well they perform their public service?
Personally I am conflicted on this issue and my conflict was renewed
yesterday by an e-mail I received which was then followed by Joe
Biden’s introduction at the Democratic National Convention by his son,
Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden.
    As a parent, it was
incredibly moving and heart-warming to see the obvious love and respect
that this young man has for, as he put it, “my hero, my father.”
Biden’s exemplary parenting and dedication to his two sons who survived
the auto accident that killed Biden’s wife and daughter is remarkable.
His priorities seem to be on very straight.  Commencing at age 29, he
made his boys his mission, all the while diligently tending to the
duties of his job as a United States Senator. And because I had the
privilege of working with him briefly in the 1980’s, I have some
personal knowledge of his character and commitment. And he’s got that
down-to-earth charisma going for him as well.  So it was exhilarating
to see him chosen as Obama’s running mate.
    Then came the e-mail.
    It was from a friend who is a strong advocate of U.S. support for
Israel and a hawk in relation to Iran and other Islamic fundamentalist
nations.  The content of the e-mail were actual cites to legislation
that Biden did not sign onto that were either pro-Israel or
anti-terrorism or anti-Iranian.  There were also links to articles that
address Biden’s voting record vs. his rhetoric, that raise the question
of how realistic he has been, or how effective his approach has been,
to dealing with the threat of Iran and it’s leaders.
    So here’s the dilemma.
    I was very outspoken on the shame that Bill Clinton brought to the
White House by his adulterous and adolescent behavior. I believed then,
and still do, that he set an appalling example and lowered the moral
bar for many.  And the contrast with the Bush’s marital relationship
and their apparent values is undeniable. But here’s the thing. Both men
were elected to lead and manage the nation.  And it’s indisputable that
in almost every analysis, Clinton did it better both domestically and
internationally. So while I prefer the public image of the Bush
relationship and both the dignity and mutual respect they project, in
the end I’m voting for an effective public servant who positively
impacts, and ideally improves, national and foreign policies. With that
criteria, Clinton trumps Bush hands down.
    Now, back to Joe Biden.
    He’s a decent man. An admirable father. A dedicated public servant.
And his choice and nomination as presented on television was stirring.
But governing isn’t about image or made-for-TV-character videos or
theatrical productions. Governing is about moving the county on a
continued trajectory toward it’s highest good while protecting it from
external harm. It’s about policies, not patinas, that get those two
missions accomplished.
    Next week, the Republicans will have
their turn (along with their media experts) to dazzle us with glitz and
glamor and similarly tug at our heartstrings. My suggestion is that
when all the hype is over, and all the candidates in place, we actually
investigate and read their public service records…their congressional
voting records…determine their real stance…on the issues that
matter to us before we vote.
    As a former divorce lawyer
who marketed a video for people going through divorce, I used to tell
women that generally, unless they are educated in advance,
they tend to pick a divorce lawyer on personality. Without knowledge of
the process and their needs, on what other basis could they possibly
choose one? And I would always follow-up that observation and say to
them “that’s how you pick a date. Not a lawyer.” 
    The same hold true for a President or Vice President.
    It’s not how they play on TV, it’s not how their personal story
moves us, it’s what issues have they championed? When have they stood
up and been counted? And for what have they stood? Its not who they
tell us they are but what, in fact, they have done about what they
believe in…and how long have they done it with consistency.
    I really like Joe Biden.
    Now I’m really going to read the record.

REMEMBER to click here to download by FREE e-book, “Too Many Secrets.”
   

>   There are plenty of examples about famous, creative and influencial people who, although inspiring millions through their teachings, had difficulty in their own personal lives in “walking” their talk.” I can deeply empathize and, perhaps, this entry is my own mea culpa for failing to do so.
    Just two days ago I wrote an entry entitled “Presence, Patience and Trust” that extolled the benefits of accepting Life as It shows up and trusting in the goodness of not only all that is but also all that will be as a result. So, in the past 24 hours, as the threads on my emotional rope wore thin and I repeatedly lost my temper…not to mention my presence, patience and trust…I feel somewhat hypocritical.
    Hence, this mea culpa.
    But when I look up the meaning and origin of the phrase “mea culpa” (I’m Jewish so I needed some clarification here) I find that it refers to an action wherein “the individual recognizes his or her flaws before God.” So I’m not quite certain this is, in fact a mea culpa. First, I’m not owning up before God, just my readers. And secondly, I don’t really see my behavior as a “flaw” but more as another opportunity to grow towards my highest good as a spiritual being along the path of having a human experience. If I accept myself as “flawed” then I imply that I, and ultimately others, are somehow “bad.” That’s a slilppery slope I’d rather not go down since, historically, it seems to end at “original sin”…a concept I do not sanction.
    So in order to not get stuck in feeling badly about myself for not having chosen my highest good, I think there’s an analogy that helps me approach the moment in a more positive way.
    It’s the principal that we give charity in order to make room for more abundance to flow into us which, in turn, allows us to give even more charity. Without “making room” so to speak for “more… it’s impossible to fill up a vessel already full.
    In the case of my losing my temper, since all matter is just energy of varying frequencies, there may just be some “stored” or “negative’ energy in me that needed to be discharged, or emptied, in order to make room for more positive energy that would serve me better in achieving my highest good. Therefore I look at that “discharge” of stored up energy I exhibited as a necessary clearing in order to be open to receiving that which I need.  Once cleared of the debilitating, stored-up energy, I am helping myself get clearer and clearer about Who I Want To Be and what types of experiences do not support that vision.  After all, now that it’s “out of me” I can clearly see that neither it, not the circumstances that prompted it, are consistent with my vision of myself.
    Now, like the vessel that has room for abundance to flow into it…I am cleared to refill the vessel that is Me with energy that is more supportive of Who I Am.
    Some of you may say this has all been an exercise in justification for inappropriate behavior. But I would respond to such a charge by saying that all behavior labeled “inappropriate” is performed by someone who has not yet embraced their inherent divinity and is struggling to find the means to so.
    Since at one time or another we’ve each been there…let’s slide one another, and especially ourselves, a little compassion and understanding.
    Now that would be the highest good for all concerned.

REMEMBER to click here to download my FREE e-book, ‘Too Many Secrets.”
   
   

>   It’s our most difficult challenges that present us with the greatest opportunities for personal growth.  I’d say divorce ranks really high on that list. So, since I’m going through one as I write, I thought I’d share an insight or two.

    Insight #1: It’s never about them. It’s always about you.
   

        It’s so easy to find fault with the Other and make them the reason for the break-up of a relationship. In fact, it’s too easy. Focusing or blaming another is simply a convenient technique to absolve yourself from personal responsibility for 1) choosing to align with that person to begin with and/or 2) acknowledging that you’ve changed… grown…. and the alliance no longer supports your highest good (or usually theirs as well, for that matter, but that’s their issue to deal with not yours).
    If you  choose a partner for the wrong reason(s)…out of need and dependence rather than out of a maturation process wherein you’ve actualized yourself and seek out another fully actualized person…then you can almost certainly anticipate a future point in time when the “jig” will be up and you will find yourself faced with an increasingly deteriorating relationship, as well as an ally turned adversary.
    The solution to this situation gone awry is to take stock of where you are in your own life and how you see yourself going forward. If that assessment and vision is inconsistent with who the Other is, well, then, you’ve got two choices. Abandon your own desires and goals or relinquish the illusion that they are attainable while aligned with incompatible energy in the form of a partner who does not enhance, or cannot even help support, that vision you have for yourself.
    It’s my experience that no matter how difficult the latter, it is not only do-able but it’s also the only road to self-respect and self-actualization.  Abandonment creates deep emotional wounds…whether someone does it to you or you do it to yourself.

    Insight #2:  Accepting responsibility brings inner peace and facilitates forgiveness.

    Refusing to accept responsibility for your choices, but instead placing blame on events and persons beyond yourself, fuels feelings of resentment, anger and victimization. If you believe that what you are experiencing is the result of someone else’s choice or events beyond your control, then it is impossible to feel at peace with what is happening in your life.  More importantly, if your suffering is someone else’s fault then how can you forgive them for your plight? Without forgiveness, you’re going to stay stuck in negative feelings that will only serve to impede your own growth and prevent you from actualizing your highest good.
    Once you accept that your choices have created every experience you are having in your life, as well as all the people who are showing up in it, only then can you begin to make deliberate and conscious choices that fully support you in achieving the life you truly intend. Fully conscious choice that originates from a place of heart-felt passion within you is the road to inner peace and personal satisfaction.
    Accepting personal responsibility for your circumstances allows you to see others in a different light going forward and to forgive both them and yourself for past circumstances. 

    So as I traverse this rocky divorce terrain, filled with opportunities to stumble, I am reminded of the adage that it’s not falling down that matters but how quickly you are able to get back up.

REMEMBER to click here to download my FREE e-book, “Too Many Secrets.”

    
   

>   Aren’t there days when you can actually feel the flow of Life as well as your place in it and, in the alternative, days when Life seems to be all up hill? But what about the days when it’s neither of those two? Days when there seems to be no movement at all and you wonder what Its all about? What’s the point? What’s your real purpose? Don’t there seem to be more of those days than the other two?
    Well, I think they’re the days when you’re actually gifted the greatest opportunity to exercise three vital qualities to living your best Life: Presence, Patience and Trust.
    An apparent lack of movement in your life (apparent because everything is continuously in motion whether we perceive it so or not) creates a window of opportunity wherein you can become fully present. Absent the hustle and bustle of the way things are when so much is happening that you can barely keep up, a period of calm and seeming stagnation you time to reign in your thoughts and focus on the quality of your actions rather than the quantity of them. More present and more focused… you become perfectly positioned to elevate not only your thoughts and actions but, ultimately, your Life as well.
    This perception of lack of movement is also the perfect testing ground for developing patience. Learning to be with what Is and accept the circumstances you find yourself in is a major contributor to decreasing and eliminating the adverse effects of stress. After all, isn’t it our refusal to allow Life to unfold in Its own time but instead impose our own Will to effect, manipulate and control outcomes that cause us to wind up worrying about that “90% that never happens” while simultaneously missing what it is Life has brought us? And in the end, we get a double reward. Patience nurtures Presence.
    Finally, the apparent lack of movement gives you the chance to exercise Trust in an outcome that is in the highest good for all concerned…whether or not you get the outcome you want. Trusting Life and Its inherent goodness is a pre-requisite for trusting the inherent goodness in ourselves and others.
    So, the next time you are experiencing a day when “nothing seems to be going right”… or going anywhere at all for that matter… try and remember Presence, Patience and Trust.
    You may be surprised to discover that being fully in them turns out to create all the movement you were looking for anyway.

Remember to click here to download my FREE e-book “Too Many Secrets.”

>   First, the disclosure: I have not seen “Dark Knight.” That’s not to say I don’t know what it’s about or what the message is. My daughter has seen it and the media is replete with reviews so I feel sufficiently informed to write this entry. What I have seen is Christine Amanpour’s CNN special “Buddha’s Warriors.”  These two media presentations pose a stark and illuminating contrast in how we get to choose the way in which we view the world and the way in which we respond to that choice.
    In “Buddha’s Warriors” Amanpour traces the history of Tibet (and it’s peoples devotion to the Dalai Lama) through the present occupation of Tibet by the Chinese and the non-violent effort by thousands of exiled Buddhist monks to return to their homeland with full religious autonomy. In the face of violent military crackdowns in Tibet and Burma (Myanmar) that have resulted in the beating, torture and killing of civilians and monks alike, the Tibetan people, their monks and the Dalai Lama himself continue to both preach and practice the highest principles of Buddhism…compassion, joy and non-violent civil disobedience.
    Not so, Batman Bruce Wayne. Here, in “Dark Knight” we enter the reality of George Bush and others who view the world as a place of terror to be dealt with by affecting vigilante justice to meet evil with evil. While this approach momentarily satisfies our basest instincts for revenge and getting the outcome we want at any price…several thousand years of historical patterns bear witness to the fact that all war and hatred get us are more war and hatred. War doesn’t end war. Peace does.
    Which brings us back to the Dalai Lama, his monks and the Tibetan people.  They too, like the people of Gotham City, are in the fight of their lives. For the Tibetans it’s not cinema, it’s real. And yet, faced with a potentially devastating and irreversible outcome, the annihilation of their culture, they remain heart-centered and mindful even, on occasion, praying for their captors while yet imprisoned and beaten. As one young Tibetan “activist” said, “it is our silence that will change the hearts and minds of the Chinese.” He refers not to the silence born of fear but a silence born of Love and Certainty. It is the silence of Jesus, Mahatmas Ghandi, Martin Luther King, and Rosa Parks…messengers whose message is eternal.
     Batman or The Dalai Lama? A vision based upon terror and war or one of compassion and peace? More time wasted on hatred and separation or a future built upon Love and Unity?
    We each get to choose and as we do, the power of our choice and our thinking gets added to the collective consciousness. When enough of us choose Love and Unity I believe that young Tibetan activist will experience the “victory of silence” he envisions.
    So may we all.

REMEMBER to click here to download my FREE e-book, “Too Many Secrets.”