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Living Spiritually and its sister site, Thoughts & Philosophies are now one blog under a new roof. Please visit thoughtsphilosophies.com.

Some Goals Are In The Mind

The strangest thing happened this afternoon. I was forced to write with a pencil on a piece of paper. The irony here is that my monitor decided to take a nap, just as I was ready to write a post for the goal-writing project Ben Yoskovitz is having at Instigator Blog, Set Your Post Thanksgiving Goals Now

In light of that, my goals are slightly altered. Well, not really altered, but re-numbered. It looks like one of the first goals I need to realize and appreciate is resourcefulness and resilience.

Don’t think I was a calm, cool cucumber before I found the pencil and paper. No, no, no. At first there was a flare of panic (the sky is falling!!!) while I made a few frantic calls. There was even a walk across the street to see if the Goodwill Store had a monitor in stock. They didn’t.

The pencil had to sharpened to a nub before my monitor came back to life. (I now have my Mom’s old one safe and sound in my living room ready for backup duty, if necessary.)

But, back to resourcefulness and resilience. This morning, I wouldn’t have considered either things to nurture as goals of the mind. That’s because everything worked as it should; I didn’t need to go looking for ways to fill the pond for my ducks. Now, after necessity threw this thought at me, it deserves a second look.

The plans we make to get to our goals, even the goals themselves, aren’t carved in stone. We set our minds to an end and cut the path to that end and, suddenly, between Steps Two and Three, up crops Step Two-A. Now what? Well, if we can’t re resilliant enough to draw on what should be a wealth of resource, we’re going to have a hard time of it. No matter how we feel about the new situation, Step Two-A is here and isn’t going away by itself. And, for all we know, Step Two-A might be just what we need to reach that goal a little sooner, a little better, a little wiser.

We can’t be so totally reliant on what we have today that we can’t change gears if we don’t have it tomorrow. If the car breaks down, we need to remember that we can walk.

Oh, if you’re interested in my goals and plans post, head over to Thoughts & Philosophies.

Complimentary Connections

Spirituality doesn’t start or end with us realizing we have a Divine connection with the Universe. Acknowledging that connection is certainly a major part of our spiritual lives, but first we need to acknowledge our connection to each other. More to the point, how we interact with each other one to one.

Yesterday, Mike Sigers posted Flattery Versus The Compliment at Simplenomics. Mike was specifically targeting the message to people involved in sales. As I read it, though, he could have been talking to any group or any individual. We will all be better off if we heed his words:

“A compliment is what the person wanted to hear, while flattery is praise to which he is totally indifferent.”

Didn’t you ever wonder why some people seem to have a general connection and others act like they were born in a kelly-green plaid polyester suit? The connected ones know the difference between giving an honest and genuine compliment while the polyester suit people transparently throw out wholesale sound bites.

Go gently. An out-of-the-box compliment will often sound like a piece of fakery. It also has a tendency to put people off.

Listen first. Small talk never hurt anybody. Getting to know what makes the other person tick will open the door for authentic compliments.

Be real. Most people are uncomfortable on a pedestal. We are God-like; not God.

Yes, we are connected and it’s a good idea to work on our inter-personal connections so we can realize the Universal connection.

Have Pride In The Blessing You Are

We’re all looking to manifest and shape better lives for ourselves and, in doing that, we sometimes have to stop to redefine entire thought processes.

For instance, Phil Benichau at Phil for Humanity recently wrote that he’s
Proud to be Proud, ending his post by saying, “I just hope I am not too proud.”

It’s often a mental wrestle to make the distinction between having just the right amount of pride and being excessively boastful. We’ve been taught that pride is one of the deadly sins and pride comes before the fall. At the same time, we’re told to take pride in ourselves and to be proud of our accomplishments.

Actually, pride is ok, if it’s properly tempered. When I write something that comes out particularly well, it pleases me so much that it does evoke a certain amount of pride. The feeling, however, must be mixed with gratitude that the ability to put words together is a talent given to me probably before birth. In reality, I can’t claim title to this talent, but it pleases me to the point of pride that I was blessed to be a custodian of it.

Which brings me to Lyman Reed’s I Am That at Creating a Better Life. Lyman was discussing David Cameron’s book, “A Happy Pocket Full of Money” and the subjective reality phrase “I am that” from the book.

To a great degree, the way we perceive the world outside of ourselves guides us in manifesting what we are. Lyman made the observation that, “Simply saying (or thinking) the phrase ‘I am that’ allows our subconscious minds to acknowledge that we have created what is going on.”

We have and should acknowledge power and responsibility for the way things are in our lives, but we also need to realize the Universe gives us that power and responsibility.

It all goes together, really. I manifest that I’m a writer. The Universe allows me to have pride in that, as long as I don’t forget the Universe can always make changes.

Yes, I’m proud to be proud; I am that.

Soul Journey

We often speak of demons. Our demons. Our worlds won’t be set right unless and until we face our demons.

But are our lives really beset by things so terrible as the word ‘demon’ implies? The sound of the word, DEEMUN, conjures thoughts of ugly, hateful, unnatural. We, on the other hand, are beautiful, loving, natural.

One of my sisters chooses, instead, to call these things “beings of wariness”. It’s a little longer to say, but it comes closer to an alignment of ourselves with ourselves.

All of our troubles stem from fear and our fears can be many. Money, illness, isolation, acceptance, for example, are not only fears in themselves, but they can fuel each other into a bonfire frenzy.

The troubling parts of our lives need to be faced, but not as the horrible monsters we think of when we think of demons. They need to be recognized and embraced as the wary parts of ourselves that they are. They need to be righted through awareness.

Every mind is on a soul journey and the journey can only happen in awareness. There are no fears in the soul, simply tremors from the troubles of the mind.

Becoming aware of the things that trouble our minds is crucial to releasing the beings of wariness. When we’re open to release, our souls relax.

There’s no need to fight our beings of wariness with the strength we’d fight a demon. We’re made with such wondrous beauty, we have no demons.

11 Keys To Changing Your Life

What are individuals but micro-organizations? In June, Kent Blumberg published 11 Keys to Change. Kent’s business is business and he was talking about organizational change. These same keys can be applied to changes we want to see happen in our lives.

• Face the reality that change is needed. If not getting where you want to go doing what you’re doing, you need to do something else.
• Set slightly out-of-reach goals. Make your mind reach in new directions; you’ll develop new thought patterns and new ways of acting.
• Tweak your routine. Disrupting the little structures in your life bring larger insights.
• Listen to someone new. Search for new thoughts from new people on old subjects.
• See, as clearly as you can, your vision of the future for you and tell people about it. If you can start to communicate what you want, you can start to get it.
• Don’t be afraid to change mid-stream. If something isn’t working, try something else until you find the thing that works for you.
• Walk the talk you’re talking. Don’t sit around with an “I’m gonna” attitude; do it.
• Look for, recognize and appreciate the many small wins along the way. They will be plentiful and will weave together to make your big win.
• Don’t stagnate. Read, take a class, join a club; do whatever is right for you to be the main participant in your life.
• Talk and listen. Tell people about your intentions, your successes, your setbacks and listen while they tell you of theirs.
• Don’t stop. Your change is continuous. Your life continues to unfold.
  

Thank You

Today is my first Thanksgiving Day as a member of the blogging community. The company of each of you is something I cherish. Thank you.

"Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it" ~~Buddha