Live Powerfully in the Present Moment

The time we spend on earth is very short when you consider
the scope of the universe. Often, we don't see the big
picture and get lost in the details. What is our purpose
in the few years we have? It is to become a living
embodiment of spirit while we are here. We must learn to
express spirit through our actions, emotions,
relationships, and in the work we do, which can be
anything from loving our children to being a bank teller.
We're supposed to nurture each other, love the planet that
provides us sustenance, evolve our soul in the process,
then go home,perhaps to try another version at some later
date.

There's no singular instruction manual for this type of
big picture thinking -- to a large degree, we make it up
as we go along. Remember, being born is like standing at
the end of a big river and jumping into an already moving
stream of people and events, all colored by the past --
the past others have left behind, but mostly the past we
create during our stay.

The Past is a Benefit

The past is important because we learn from it. It helps
us navigate through our current choices in order to evolve
our soul. We're in soul school the minute we hit the
ground until we cross over, coursework made possible by
the enriching and sometime challenging conditions we have
chosen. We chart a learning program well before we get
here, a structure that includes our parents, our gender,
and circumstances that will provide us with the greatest
opportunity for personal and spiritual growth, resulting
in true-self-empowerment.

Negative Programs Limit Our Present-Day Vision

Where we get into trouble is giving up our freedom to
make new choices within that structure based upon the
present, especially when we replay old, outdated
messages given to us by others that solidify our belief
system about who we are.
Negative programming results, or the way we automatically
approach present day circumstances, with a "can't do"
attitude. Negative programs limit our vision, preventing
us from feeling empowered about what we can accomplish in
life. Such negative thought patterns from the past
deplete our energy reserves, diminishing our ability to
make a difference in the lives of others today.

Have any of the following ideas become part of your
present experiences?

* You can't do that; girls just don't do that.
* You have to make me happy; I sacrificed everything for
you.
* This family comes first, not you.
* You don't deserve to be loved.
* I'm poor but good.
* The world is a terrible place.
* You'll fail/get hurt/be taken advantage of so don't
try.
* I don't have to apologize because I'm the parent.
* You make enough mistakes, and you'll learn how hard
life is.

I believe we set a mental agenda every day, and what we
see in our world, and our personal lives, is a result of
what we think. If you aren't getting what you want out
of life, then you must create a mental discipline that
replaces a negative belief system with one of hope,
appreciation of the past, and a decisive statement of
what you see happening in the present. The present is
what matters.

Change Your Outlook

Changing a mental outlook takes discipline. In our
culture we are taught to plan for disaster, be prepared,
and anticipate what might be coming around the bend.

It involves releasing outdated ideas and replacing them 
with ideas of what you want in the present moment, and 
accept it as already happening.

How many of you have heard "life is hard, a daily
struggle, life is tough"? How about "if you don't have
your health, you don't have anything"? I am of the
opinion that if you don't have excellent health, yes,
things might be fairly bleak, but there still is an awful
lot of life to be had. Life, in terms of our exchange
with others, has many meanings, but often we've got the
definition backwards. Life isn't all about taking it in.

It's mostly about what you give out.


Write a Daily Affirmation to Stay on Track

Write a daily affirmation that encourages you to look
inward and unseat old messages.

Ask yourself:

What blocks my ability to overcome and mend? 

Am I fearful of life? 

Do I always put my needs last because I feel unworthy? 


Change your mental outlook into a new assumption for
today by saying:

* Each day is an opportunity to give more to humanity.

* This unlimited universe gives me room to grow in
unlimited ways.

* By being who I am, I give to the world with excitement
and love.

* I become stronger because of the challenges I have
faced.

* I am worthy because I am my Divine Self.

* I no longer need to hold myself back from success and
prosperity.

* My life is a unique expression of creation.

* I love the journey I'm on. I construct my puzzle at my
own pace!


Move Forward with Hope and Joy

Remember, every day is new, no matter how you slice it.
The sun comes up in spite of our mistakes or the despair 
we must face. We are meant to continually move forward!
Getting stuck in the past holds us behind, a prisoner
within an incredible universe of opportunity.
True empowerment stems from living now, not as a reaction
to now from the past, or living with worry about what
might happen tomorrow, next month, or next year.

Every day, no matter what has happened to you in the 
past, is a new opportunity to begin painting your life
on a fresh, new canvas. 

Paint with powerful, present moment strokes. A mental
outlook centered in "now" allows you to realize more
self-power and confidence you'll need to ride the bumps
in life.

You can do it!

~ Charlene M. Proctor,Ph.D.~

The Freedom and Power of Accountability

Why an article on accountability? While hardly a new topic,
the concept is widely maligned, misunderstood, or missed
completely. Until we are willing to live our lives from an
accountable perspective, there are always excuses as to
why we can't, why our lives don't work, and why we should
not even try.

Let's start at the beginning. The 3 basic levels of
accountability are, briefly:

1) Accountability for our feelings: I do not have choice
regarding all the events in my life, but I always have
choice in how I respond to those events.

2) Accountability for our feelings, choices, and lessons:
I co-create the experiences in my life. I choose not to
waste precious energy blaming myself or anyone else.
I honestly examine all of MY choices that co-create the
experiences in my life, and I choose to learn valuable
lessons from everything I experience.

3) Spiritual accountability for everything: This level of
accountability is best framed by the statement, "I chose
my parents, and I will choose the time, place, and method
of my death." The implications are many, but simply put,
we are spiritual beings having a human experience. The
experiences we co-create here on earth have some purpose
or lesson for us, both at a human and spiritual level.
It is our job while we are here to discover that purpose,
learn, and evolve.

Accountability is a massive concept; however there are
some foundational ideas that assist in its integration:

1) Accountability is not "right"; it is simply a way of
viewing our lives and experiences that helps us to let
go of the past and move forward in life.

2) Accountability is an internal experience; no one can
make you accountable

3) Accountability is the foundation of freedom and
personal power

In defining accountability, it is sometimes easier to
start with what accountability is NOT, as our society
is very invested in the model of blame. If something
is "wrong," then there must be someone to blame;
someone or something is responsible.

Accountability is NOT SELF-BLAME.

Too many people believe that being accountable is 
being responsible, and most have the experience of 
blame attached to being responsible.

The first and most important step in understanding
and applying accountability is accepting the concept
there is NO BLAME. This idea, while it sounds
simple, is really quite radical, and doesn't fit
within belief systems held by most.

If the concept of no blame is difficult for you,
simply ask yourself this question,

"What if there is no one to blame?" 

How would that impact your life?

How could it assist you and free up your energy?

Would this idea support you to forgive yourself
and others?

Simply releasing the energy of blame can transform
your life.

Become conscious of where in your life you blame
others and you blame yourself.

If possible, let go of the blame and see how it
feels.

A concept that allowed me to stop blaming is: We
all have made the best possible choices we knew how
to make when those choices were made, with the
information we had at the time. (Information means
our entire development as human beings, mentally,
emotionally, physically, and spiritually).

The truth is, for most people, this is
exceptionally difficult to accept. We have been
hard wired to blame, and there must be someone or
something at fault. If we begin to release this idea,
we can let go of the emotional energy and weight of
blame in our lives. What we are aiming for is the
experience of truly accepting what is.

Regardless of how much we feel blame may be justified
in a given circumstance, a more important question
is, "Is it your wisest choice to consume your
precious life energy blaming yourself or others?"

If we choose to blame, we project our life 
experiences outside of ourselves where we have no 
power, or internally where we diminish and demean 
ourselves.

From either of these positions, we cannot learn or
move forward in life. We can only stay stuck.

Next, ask the question, "What is my life lesson in 
this experience?"

Only after answering this question can we really move
forward to the power of accountability. The key to 
ongoing empowerment and personal evolution is
interpreting and applying the lessons in our lives.

Practice answering the question "What choices did I 
make to co-create this experience in my life?" 

Answer the question in areas of your life where
things are going great and areas where things are not
terrific. There are significant lessons in both
circumstances.

Now the most important aspect of truly being
accountable is the application of the lesson(s).
Accountability has become a much more commonly used
term over the past 15 years. Many people now profess
to be accountable and, even more entertaining, to
taking accountability. I always wonder, taking it
from where?

The grounding of taking accountability is usually
still related to the weight of responsibility and
blame, yet the results in their lives never seem to
shift.

Here is the measure of true accountability. Our 
results in life change because we apply the lessons of
our life. It is a simple and powerful measure. If our
results do not change, we have not learned the lessons 
and keep recreating similar experiences over and over 
again.

If we choose to accept (and apply) the concept of 
accountability, then no matter the circumstance, we 
can choose to accept, learn, and grow, regardless of 
how challenging it may be.

The final component of accountability is the capacity
to attach meaning and significance to the events in
our lives in a manner that supports us to move
forward, evolve, and more consciously engage in our
lives.

~ Jay Fiset ~

6 Steps to a Stronger Mind by Mark Victor Hansen

Our minds are all we've got. They are the source of who we, both personally and professionally, are. They determine our success or failure. They are our strength and our weakness.

With the quality of our entire lives resting on our minds, it's unbelievable that we choose to fill them with so much garbage. The amount of negativity from television, newspapers, tabloids and other media that bombards us on a daily basis is amazing. We would never think to fill our bodies with only junk food, right? Heck no. We know that if we ate nothing but French fries and ice cream we would experience negative consequences like skin blemishes, weight gain and rotting teeth.

But with mental junk food we don´t see the physical consequences right away. When our minds are constantly filled with negativity and bad news, our minds begin to decay. That´s why we need to develop a strong, Herculean-esque mind.

Developing your mental muscles will give you the power to accomplish anything you want in life. Sure, it takes some discipline on your part, but look at the world's greatest bodybuilders. They don't show up at the gym every once in a while. They create a workout schedule and they are at the gym every day, no matter what.

Hire yourself as your "mental manager". Figure out how much you're going to pay yourself and make up a job list. Here are six jobs to assign to yourself to create a stronger mind.

1. Read Right

How much good news do you see in the newspapers? Editors usually say, "If it bleeds, it leads." Not much chance of positivity there. So, read something else. Read books – good books. Books that motivate you. Books that inspire you. Look up some of the great inspirational authors online or in your local bookstore. Read them every morning and/or every night, before you go to sleep.

2. Share Your Mind

Find someone, or a group of someone's, who have the same desire to share positivity. This is called masterminding. Great successes are created when great minds come together and think about the same things.

3. Find A Mentor

My mentor was Buckminster Fuller and I learned more from that man about life than I ever hoped to. Who are the people you admire most, whether you know them or not? Figure out whom you'd like to emulate and study them. If they offer seminars, attend them. If they've written books, read them. Just a few I´d recommend are: Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, Dr. Wayne Dyer and Zig Ziglar.

4. Listen to Motivational/Inspirational CDs and DVDs

This is one of the most important habits you can create for yourself. Find inspirational audio messages and listen to them over and over. Earl Nightingale, one of the most brilliant thinkers of our time, had this to say on the subject: "Tape listening is the most important advance in technology since the invention of the printing press." With CDs speakers can reach 10 times as many people as the printed word ever could.

5. Sign Up and Attend Seminars

The motivational messages you hear at seminars, and the inspirational people you meet, reinforce your self-esteem and positive thinking. You can search out seminars via the internet, newspapers or local colleges and universities.

6. Turn Off the Television

On average, the television set in an American home is on over 7 hours a day. Just like any bad habit, it needs to be broken. I'm not saying that all television is bad. Heck no. I'm simply recommending that you cut back on your television viewing. Decide how long you're going to watch television and then turn it off when you're time is up. Try cutting back your television viewing one hour every day at first. You can use that time to read a book, listen to a motivational tape, walk your dog or spend time with your family.

After reading these six steps maybe you're saying, "But Mark, I can´t do it. I just don´t know if I can be this dedicated to bettering myself?" Who else are you going to be dedicated to if not yourself? Because when it comes right down to it, folks, you are all that you've got. Jobs and relationships come and go. Children grow up, leave the nest and get lives of their own. Then there you are, alone with yourself. Why not create a "you" you can be proud of.

'Amaze yourself; manifest your full potential.'

~Mark Victor Hansen~

Creating Your Character is Like an Artist Creating a Sculpture

Could creating your character be likened to an artist creating a sculpture? In my opinion, I believe that character is not something that just happens by itself, any more than a chisel can create a work of art without the hand of an artist guiding it. In both instances, a conscious decision for a specific outcome has been made. A conscious process is at work. Character is the result of hundreds and hundreds of choices you make that gradually turn who you are, at any given moment, into who you want to be. If that decision-making process is not present, you will still be somebody. You will still be alive, but may have a personality rather than a character.

Character is not something you were born with and can't change like your fingerprint. In fact, because you weren't born with it, it is something that you must take responsibility for creating. I don't believe that adversity by itself builds character and I certainly don't think that success erodes it. Character is built by how you respond to what happens in your life. Whether it's winning every game or losing every game. Getting rich or dealing with hard times. You build character out of certain qualities that you must create and diligently nurture within yourself. Just like you would plant and water a seed or gather wood and build a campfire. You've got to look for those things in your heart and in your gut. You've got to chisel away in order to find them. Just like chiseling away the rock in order to create the sculpture that has previously existed only in your imagination.

But do you want to know the really amazing thing about character? If you are sincerely committed to making yourself into the person you want to be, you'll not only create those qualities, but you'll continually strengthen them. And you will recreate them in abundance even as you are drawing on them every day of your life. Just like the burning bush in the biblical book of Exodus, the bush burned but the flames did not consume it. Character sustains itself and nurtures itself even as it is being put to work, tested, and challenged. And once character is formed, it will serve as a solid, lasting foundation upon which to build the life you desire.

Jim Rohn