"Forget the resolutions. Forget control and discipline...too much work. Instead try experimenting. Go in search of something to fall in love with...something about yourself, your career, your spouse."

-- Dale Dauten

 "Nothing is ever lost by courtesy. It is the cheapest of pleasures, costs nothing, and conveys much. It pleases those who gives and receives and thus, like mercy, is twice blessed."

Erastus Wiman

We are part of the great puzzle of life, and without us it is not complete. . . .

Everything you do makes a difference.  Everything you don't do makes a difference, too.  If you wave your arm you create a breeze.  What does that do to the weather?  The effect may be small, but there is an effect, and combined with other small effects it can have a significant effect.  Every act we perform has some effect on the choices other people make and the world we live in.  We are part of the great puzzle of life, and without us it is not complete. . . .

Every act has its effect.  To do nothing is an act that stems from feelings of hopelessness and despair.  Please remember, no matter how dark the future looks, you can make a difference.  When you live the true life you were sent here to live, the difference you make will enhance life rather than destroy it.  Do not spend time worrying how big a difference you make.  Anything that enhances a life makes a difference; helping one individual recover from a broken heart; easing one person's pain; helping one ugly duckling discover his or her beauty.  Keep working as long as you live, and live as long as you can, and when you finish your marathon they will hang a medal around your neck that says, "You Make a Difference." 

Bernie Siegel.

"Each today, well-lived, makes yesterday a dream of happiness and each tomorrow a vision of hope. Look, therefore, to this one day, for it and it alone is life."

-- Sanskrit poem

Personal Alchemy: Three Steps To Positive Transformation

Lately, I've become intrigued by the idea or process of "alchemy." Funk & Wagnall tells me alchemy is a transformation, "a change in nature, form or quality." So how to take charge of your own personal alchemy? For me, it's about changes and transformations of mind, body and spirit. Therefore, in this article I've outlined three of my favorite ways to approach personal alchemy on the path to wholeness and health.

Step One: Dissect A Past Transformation:
It's easy to feel overwhelmed when thinking about the process of making a personal overhaul. Therefore, it's important to break this idea down to its least common denominator. To begin, recall if you can a positive transformation you've made in your life. It could be as simple as beginning and staying with an exercise program. In your mind locate and focus on one specific personal transformation.

Next, break down your transformation into its components: mind, body and spirit. I tend to look at everything in this tri-fold sense. I believe it is important to see the way a particular event contributes to the growth of each component. Right now, take a moment to observe the ways each of these components have contributed to your transformation:

Mind: Was your mind committed to making this positive change?

Body: What daily actions did it take to make this personal transformation effective and permanent?

Spirit: Was there a spiritual component at hand guiding you toward your positive goal?

Step Two: Begin The Uncovering Process:
Now that you've dissected a previous transformation, the uncovering process is simple. This process asks you to take some time with your journal and uncover a new personal transformation you would like to experience. With pen in hand, take time to make notes to yourself. Start small. What transformations would you like to make this year? Do some dreaming.

When you've finished, scan your list for one worthwhile goal that is achievable. If you are unable to commit to one on your list, try these ideas to complete your uncovering:

According to Louise Hay in her book "You Can Heal Your Life" these components will help you live a holistic, healthy life. Perhaps one may inspire you toward a worthwhile goal.

Nurture The Body: Practice sound nutrition. Aim to make the best choices for your body and choose food and beverages that make you feel well. When appropriate supplement with herbs, vitamins and homeopathy.

Practice a sound exercise program. Find a form of exercise that is appealing to you and is one that you will do. Choose from: aerobic exercise, resistance training, tai chi, yoga or Pilates. When appropriate use body work such as massage or reiki.

Nurture The Mind: Add to your daily practice, visualization, guided imagery, affirmations or dream work. Spiritual meditation is also a great way to quiet the mind and allow time to tune in to the divine.

Nurture The Spirit: Find time to practice prayer work, meditation, forgiveness and unconditional love.

Step Three: Find Answers In The Silence: Then Take Your Goals One By One
We can't possibly do everything. For as someone once told me "you have only, all the time there is." With this in mind, I am brought back to my earliest ideas about personal alchemy. This involves one of the most difficult, yet necessary practices: finding time for silence. Finding time is the challenge I most often face when looking at my own personal growth and aiming to find ways to simplify and speed up the process.

Silence. Why does it work? From a physics or scientific standpoint, the electrons within the molecules of the body actually speed up when the body slows down. It seems difficult to understand at first, but the key is its reciprocal process. When the body slows down, the energy surrounding the body and passing through the body speeds up, literally directing the body: instructing it.

Grace, balance and growth are often natural extensions of this process. When you take some time to be still and offer your goal up to the universe, you can then become aware of the divine direction. To do this, try to first become aware of your surroundings. Then aim to find time each day to move toward your worthwhile goal. Keep it close to your heart. Know that there are many distractions in life, but if you take time to rest and stop for one moment, it could be the moment you will receive your greatest inspiration.

........................................
When in doubt, there's always help!  For a creative boost and further direction in your discovery process, please explore these sources: 

The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity By Julia Cameron.   
Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential by Caroline Myss.    ### 

Laura M. Turner is a 15-year veteran fitness instructor, fitness trainer, journalist, author and natural health practitioner. She hosts http://www.beauty-and-body.com a website dedicated to inspiring all to stay healthy, disease free and youthful both inside and out. Visit today to receive Laura's Best Health Tips and her 7 Easy Weight Loss Strategies eCourse, FREE! While you're there, check out her latest book Spiritual Fitness: The 7-Steps to Living Well:http://www.beauty-and-body.com/Spiritual_Fitness_Info.htm 

"Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them you reach your destiny."

Carl Schurz

 "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and mystery."

-- H. G. Wells

 "If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember this whole thing was started by a mouse." 

 -- Walt Disney

Go after what you want in life

 You're good, but you're going to be great.

You're the best, but you're going to get better.

Sometimes the paths we take are long and hard, but remember: those are always the ones that lead to the most beautiful views.

Challenges come along inevitably: how you respond to them determines who you are - deep down inside - and everything you're going to be.

Increase the chances of reaching your goals by working at them gradually. The very best you can do is all that is asked of you.

Realize that you are capable of working miracles of your own making. Remember that opportunities have a reason for knocking on your door, and the right ones are there for the taking.

You don't always have to win, but you do need to know what it takes to be a winner.

It's up to you to find the key that unlocks the door to a more fulfilling life.

Understand that increased difficulty brings you nearer to the truth of how to survive it - and get beyond it.

Cross your bridges.

Meet your challenges.

Reach out for your dreams, and bring them closer and closer to your heart.

Get rid of the "if only's" and get on with whatever you need to do to get things right.

Go after what you want in life, with all the blessings of all the people who care about you. And find out what making your wishes come true really feels like.

~ Collin McCarty ~

"...focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it."


-- Greg Anderson

"Seek out that particular mental attribute which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with which comes the inner voice which says, ‘This is the real me,´ and when you have found that attitude, follow it."

-- William James

The Parable of Brother Leo

A legend tells of a French monastery known throughout Europe for the extraordinary leadership of a man known only as Brother Leo. Several monks began a pilgrimage to visit Brother Leo to learn from him. Almost immediately, they began to bicker about who should do various chores.

On the third day they met another monk going to the monastery, and he joined them. This monk never complained or shirked a duty, and whenever the others would fight over a chore, he would gracefully volunteer and do it himself. By the last day, the others were following his example, and from then on they worked together smoothly.
When they reached the monastery and asked to see Brother Leo, the man who greeted them laughed. "But our brother is among you!" And he pointed to the fellow who had joined them.


Today, many people seek leadership positions, not so much for what they can do for others but for what the position can do for them: status, connections, perks, advantages. They do service as an investment, a way to build an impressive resume.


The parable about Brother Leo teaches another model of leadership, where leaders are preoccupied with serving rather than being followed, with giving rather than getting, with doing rather than demanding. Leadership based on example, not command. This is called servant leadership.


Can you imagine how much better things would be if more politicians, educators, and business executives saw themselves as servant leaders?




Michael Josephson
www.charactercounts.org

"Mastery does not come from dabbling. We have to be prepared to pay the price. We need to have the sustained enthusiasm that motivates us to give our best."

-- Eknath Easwaran

Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working.

- Pablo Picasso

I hated every minute of training, but I said, "Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion." - Muhammad Ali

Forgiving Without Condoning Or Forgetting

I suspect all of us have been hurt in deep and lasting ways by the words or acts of another. It's normal in such situations to feel hostility toward the person who hurt us. If we allow the offense to linger, we may carry the hurt and resentment in the form of a grudge. Usually this causes more unhappiness for us than the person we're mad at.


Some religions speak of forgiveness as a moral duty, others as a worthy virtue, and still others impose preconditions on the wrongdoer before he or she is entitled to be forgiven. Whatever your religious views, psychologists say the ability to forgive is closely correlated to happiness and mental health.


Some people refuse to even entertain the idea of forgiveness because they don't think the person they resent deserves to be forgiven. Others don't want to appear to condone or excuse the conduct and certainly don't want to reconcile with the person.


The essence of forgiveness is a voluntary decision to abandon continuing resentment, to let go of anger, and to move on. It doesn't require or imply condoning, excusing, or forgetting. Nor does it require that the forgiver re-establish a relationship with the wrongdoer.


According to Dr. Ben Dean, the capacity to forgive is related to the character strength of empathy. People who can empathize with an offender and see things from that person's perspective are much better able to forgive. He also says that the older we get, the more forgiving we're likely to become.


Hmmm. We usually get wiser, too. So maybe it's wise to forgive.




Michael Josephson
www.charactercounts.org

“In order to live a rich life, everything about who you are must be one, in alignment, and in pure harmony.”

-- Suze Orman

"You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage -- pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically -- to say 'no' to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger 'yes' burning inside."

-- Stephen Covey

"Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again." -- Sarah Ban Breathnach