Relationships and Giving of a Different Kind

Hello Again and Welcome Back!

I have a number of things on my mind today....not the least of which is a reminder to me to do a better job of proofing my blog before I publish it. If you caught a few typos last time, sorry. It should NOT have happened. Live & learn .....and be embarrassed......a guaranteed cure for carelessness.

SPORTS
In Baseball, congratulations to the Boston Red Sox for their impressive accomplishment of again SWEEPING the World Series in four straight games. The Sox have been in the World Series twice in the last four years and their record is now 8 and 0......yep, they have won 8 in a row and have yet to lose. So, all you Boston fans, you had to wait for a very long time to see your boys do this well, but wasn't it worth the wait? Many Boston fans were born, lived their lives and died, having never seen the Sox even qualify for a World Series, never mind winning two series in 4 years, including 8 games in a row. Well done Boston! Can you spell DYNASTY???

In the NFL, this past Sunday, we saw the two best teams in the league, New England Patriots (8-0) and the Indianapolis Colts (7-0) each maintain thier unbeaten status. This sets up nicely what will surely be the game of the year between these two talented powerhouse teams this coming Sunday. Fans will also use this as a measure to determine who is the dominant /best quarterback in the NFL......Peyton Manning (Colts) or Tom Brady (Patriots). It should be a dandy football game.

RELATIONSHIPS of a DIFFERENT SORT and the ACT of GIVING

WHY?

Why is it difficult for so many people to be kind, thoughtful and/or sensitive to the feelings of others? Is it blatant selfishness? Or is it , as some say, because to display such traits is a sign of weakness? And weakness doesn't cut it in this "dog eat dog" world. WRONG!!! It takes true strength of character to openly display compassion, patience & understanding towards others!
So, ignore those who shout "weakness"!! Their ignorance is showing when they speak out in such a way.

Why is it so difficult for so many to be positive about life? To show appreciation for the kindness of others?To be thankful for what they DO have? This may seem to be naive on my part because there are millions of people throughout our world living in impossibly harsh conditions, most notably Africa. Even in North America, we have a completely unacceptable level of homeless people and whole families living below the poverty line. Why is that allowed to persist? There is enough food in the world to easily feed everyone, enough materials to ensure everyone has shelter. Yet, on and on it goes.....in ever increasing larger numbers.

Why do we accept that situation? Is it someone else's responsibility? Are we so wrapped up in our own lives, that we just keep a blind eye towards those less fortunate than us? The "us" I refer to is all of us who have many good reasons to be thankful for the lives we are leading. So the questions to be considered are.... What can we do? What should we do? What responsibility should we feel towards fellow citizens of our community or of the world at large? Is it live & let live? Every man for himself? What's YOUR view?

Here's mine! Most of us have no valid reason to feel or behave as though we are victims of an unfair world system. Since that is the case, then should we perhaps seriously consider putting our focus on GIVING, in some form or other? Apologies to those who already do this ...and there are many....but what about the rest of us?

Giving can be done in several ways. The most traditional methods are:
(1) to contribute money to charitable foundations to fund their good work of clothing, housing, feeding and providing health care for those who simply don't have the means
(2) to donate to the various medical trusts or foundations to help them combat / defeat a large vareity of diseases that afflict many people in the world (AIDS, CANCER, HEART, DIABETES, ARTHRITIS, ETC.)
(3) to volunteer time to collect money for agencies: help with house construction; be a "Big Brother/Sister/Uncle ; man phones at the Suicide Prevention Centers; be trained to become a Rape Counsellor; provide and serve food at the local Drop-in Centers, etc etc.

There are many choices when it comes to volunteer work. But what if we don't have the means or time for these things? Well, there are less obvious, but equally useful and helpful forms of giving.

Here's what I mean.What if each one of us chose to do what we can, every moment of everyday, to be a good (concerned ) neighbour? A good friend? A good employee? A good boss?
An actively involved member of our community?

HOW? Well, by helping others to have reason to smile more often, to feel better about themselves, to be able to see or at least believe that there may be a little bit of a silver lining behind all those dark clouds that dominate their lives most of the time.

What if we could help such people to understand that one closed door does NOT mean that no new doors will ever be opened? Would that be considered a worthwhile form of giving to others? I believe it would.

Then, what if we gradually, but steadily, took it even further by:

• encouraging others to NEVER give up on their dreams;
• to stay fervently passionate about what they would like to achieve;
• to be unfailingly positive about specifically what they want;
• to help them understand the vital importance of positive thinking;
• that negative thinking is genuinely counter-productive and is virtually guaranteed to beget the negative consequences that they fear most ....the manifestation of exactly what they do NOT want.
  
  The Law of Attraction is similar to the Law of Gravity. You can say that you don't believe in either one......but gravity will continue to be real, as will attraction. It is working even when you aren't thinking about it at all. It's always a reality, positively or negatively.

Expressed in its simplest terms, the thoughts that most dominate your life are exactly what will become manifest in your life. Example, in your conscious mind, you may think that you are wishing for positive outcomes in your life. However, if subconsciously your thoughts are focused on negatives, then those undesired outcomes are most likely to become realities in your life.

WHY is it NOT easy to get "clear" of this negative subconscious thinking, someone may ask of you? It's human nature, so people need to be trained & disciplined. What if that person had someone like you in their life, who was constantly upbeat, encouraging and determined to help the negative thinker to really work on turnng their thinking around 180 degrees....from constant fear and negativity to steady, ever present positive thinking? What if you were unrelenting in your intention to help them see that there are reasons to smile a lot more than they have been; to generally "lighten up" and see the more joyful side of life; to believe in the value of dreaming, wishing for good things, visualizing as though they already had them and believing passionately that their thoughts will become things.....realities in their life, all in good time. Additionally, what if you also assured them that although their big dreams WILL ultimately be manifest in their life, until that happens, life can & will be better if they will be "happy in the moment". This simply means their life can be enjoyed and celebrated NOW, every moment, as they enjoy the small steps of progress they see happening daily.

What if, as a result of this mentoring and constant encouragement from you, they develop confidence in the idea that they do indeed have an untapped source of Personal Power within themselves..... a source that is there, ready and waiting to be used ? How will they feel when they learn to use that power to take intelligent actions that will ultimately end in positive manifestations in their lives?

What if each one of us who has learned about, accepted and actively practices these ideas and concepts, acts to influence one or more friends, family members or associates to to begin to use these principles in their lives? Do you think that there may be a strong feeling that you have GIVEN them something worthwhile? My view is that you will have just completed a magnificent act of giving. If your gift of mentoring and encouragement is accepted, appreciated and implemented so well that positive manifestations start to "pour " into their lives, your "giving" will be viewed as a priceless gift. You will benefit as well, from the positive feeling that goes with helping someone decide to turn their life around. You also will have the opportunity to watch them do it......because you GAVE to them what they needed to take the steps required.....constant support and encouragement.

If you haven't already done so, I encourage you to read Michael J.Losier's book "Law of Attraction", as well as Dr. Joe Vitale's book "The ATTRACTOR FACTOR". They are well worth the read and will help you achieve greater clarity on the Law of Attraction.

Losier's book defines the Law of Attraction as follows:

"I attract to my life whatever I give my attention, energy and focus to, whether positive or negative."

There is also non-deliberate attraction and Losier explains it this way:

"The Law of Attraction responds to whatever vibration you are sending by giving you more of it, whether it's positive or negative . It simply responds to your vibration."

Mr.Losier also makes it clear that we need to understand the significance of our own words....
" Whether it's a positive or negative vibration, the Law of Attraction will give you more of the same."

The author then points out succinctly that there are certain words that cause us to attract what we DON'T want:

"When you make a statement containing the words don't, not or no, you are actually giving attention and energy to what you don't want. Simply ask yourself, 'So what do I want?'

I hope these little bites from the book will pique your interest to buy it, read it and start the process of getting a firm grasp on the Law of Attraction. Then you can begin the process of using that personal power inside you to .....DO..BE...HAVE.... whatever it is you
want.


DEALING WITH STRESS

I believe that most of you would nod in agreement on this factual observation: the world we live in today operates as a fast paced 24/7 culture. This has the predictable effect of peoples' minds
being crammed with an accumulation of life stressors .

Working people take these stressors to the office everyday where the odds are that more stressors will be piled on . The stay at home moms and /or dads don't escape this either. They worry about the health and safety of their children as they go off to school everyday. They worry about the prevalence of the drug culture & the growing amount of school violence ( right inside the school buildings). They worry about the kids falling prey to sexual predators lurking around schools and playgrounds, or the pressure from their peers to experiment with sexual practices ( because "everybody" is doing it). They worry about health issues such as infections being somehow introduced into the school and spreading like wildfire.

No matter what your role or station in life, it is virtually impossible to completely avoid stress. However, it's not the stressors themselves that are most important; the critical factor is how you choose to respond to them.

One of the main reasons people feel stress is they sense a lack of control. At work, people feel that they don't control their work routine and that the boss just keeps pouring on more to do with unreasonable deadlines to be met. They are not asked for their opinion or point of view.

When they arrive home at the end of the day, their spouse is waiting to unload on them the concerns, incidents, tragedies that they had to deal with during that day, involving the kids, the home, finances, the car, etc etc. and they need their partner to get involved and participate in finding solutions.

If the persons facing these stressors allow themselves to be overwhelmed by the issues, if they feel a complete lack of control, the situations can quickly deteriorate and become even more stressful. But, if they can learn to say ...."Wait a minute,I do have choices here. I choose to NOT be a victim of stress. I choose to examine the options that are always available in every situation". Options are not clear to the person whose mind is "boggled" with stressors.

Here's the reality. People do not have to be mindless slaves to a job or a boss. They do not have to just accept a worrisome situation involving the kids and the school system/situation. They do not have to just accept their scary financial situation. There are always options open from which to select the right path for the beginnings of a solution.

The first thing to deal with is the "self talk "that is going on inside of you. Is that inner voice simply repeating the thoughts of negative outcomes? More than likely, this IS what is going on internally. We have in our personal "tool box" a beginning understanding of the personal power we each have, along with knowledge of the principle that we attract what we are thinking and talking about. So, we know that the first thing we need to do is turn off that negativity and express to ourselves in a loud and clear internal voice....exactly what is the OUTCOME WE WANT TO ACHIEVE?

It won't happen magically and /or instantly , of course. But as soon as you are thinking and talking positively, you will start to feel better, more relaxed, more in control. WHY? Because
positive thinking gives rise to intelliegent actions......steps that can and will be taken, one at a time. Now you begin to have the feeling that you are on the way to a solution and the endorphins do their thing inside of you and the stress, little by little , begins to melt away.

Why is it that there are many people who always seem completely unaffected by the stressors
of life? It's not that these calm, in control people, don't have to face stressors in their lives....they do. Everyone does. Their ability to cope comes from the fact that they intuitively know what mind-set will help and what mind-set will hinder and be counter-productive. They know that they can choose to deal with the problem by starting with an examination of the options. Then they decide what they want to achieve as an outcome and what further actions it will take to get there. They may not even have the slightest awareness that they are in step with the energy vibrations of the universe. They may not even have heard of the Law of Attraction. They just intuitively know what behaviours are a waste of time and energy and won't contribute to a solution. They just know what WILL make a difference..... ......positive thinking and intelligent action steps.

Many of you are likely just very naturally working with & following the Law of Attraction principles, without having read about it or studying it. But it will make you feel very good to read about this and to be able to accurately say to yourself, "Wow! I am ahead of the curve on this. I'm already doing the right things!"

Do you think that Bill Gates, Waren Buffet, or for that matter, any of the Fortune 500 CEOs, spend a lot of time worrying about negative outcomes in their lives? Of course they don't. They are too busy thinking positively, looking ahead , deciding on what it is they want to do next. And the universe just keeps on rewarding them with more and more of what they are crystal clear they want to achieve. Were Messrs Gates and Buffet born rich? Were they always successful? No.....they started out like most of us , facing a world of opportunity. They decided to do what they love doing....what they had a passion for. They knew what they wanted, thought constantly positive about it, soon their thoughts became things / realities in their lives, because of the intelligent, step by step actions that they took & that they KNEW would generate the results they wanted.

The other good news is this. Succes , money, achievement, are all available to everyone.There is no short supply of these "commodities". There will always be plenty for everyone .......so you are not running out of time. It'll be there for you when you have made up your mind what it is that you want to DO, BE, or HAVE. But is there any better time than now to start something this exciting and worthwhile? Get on board. Start defining what it is you want and then postively, relentlessly go for it. Enjoy the satisfaction of experiencing little achievements every step along the way. Be happy in each moment. You are doing something very positive for your life, so celebrate each small step victory. Then, as you persist, NEVER giving up in your quest, soon you will see the manifestation in your life of those BIG DREAMS.

I know....I understand ...... that there will be many among you that are convinced that "my trolley is off the track". You are convinced that blood, sweat and tears and a lot of luck are the only things that will bring you some measure of success. Well, as Dr. Phil would say.......
" Okay. How's that working for you ? " Just examine closely any successful person of your choice. You'll find that they intuitvely practice all the principles we've talked about. Or, they have purposefully learned about the Secret and the Law of Attraction and are consciously
applying the principles in their lives. But, you have a choice....as always. You may choose to continue in your present path or you can choose to read, study & examine closely what we have been discussing and see if it begins to make sense to you.

Whatever course you choose, I wish you well. But you know what I recommend!

That's it for this time. I will really enjoy and appreciate any feedback you may have on any subject of your choice. Stay well. Eat healthily. Get your exercise daily. Most of all........

BE HAPPY IN THE NOW !! ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF YOUR JOURNEY, STEP BY STEP,
KNOWING THAT MANIFESTATION OF YOUR BIG DREAMS IS ON THE WAY!

Regards to all. See you next time.

Jerry