STRAIGHT UP LIVING

Peace For The Warrior

 

 

 

Recently, I've had the opportunity to reconnect with a family member ( my cousin) that I have been out of touch with for several years.   As a very young boy, I looked up to this individual quite a bit and he had a special bond with my family.  The years passed and we drifted out of regular contact,  his life in the military keeping him very busy, to say the least, and far away from home.  Besides being a decorated veteran of the U. S. Marine Corps (including two Purple Hearts and a Silver Star) he is a cherished member of our loving family.  I am grateful to have reconnected with him and doing so has caused me to think about all that he has endured, sacrificed, and overcome.  In many ways, his greatest challenges are not in dealing with the past, but with the present.   He faces these challenges with the same strength and determination that has sustained him through the years. 

 

This song is dedicated to my cousin, and to all of those who share similar experiences and challenges. 

 

 

 

Why Not Now?

 

 

 

 

Silent Killer of Dreams

Procrastination has been dubbed "The Silent Killer" and I think that is an accurate description.  There's little else that will cause you more agony as you seek to live out your passionand purpose.  In fact, there are not many things that will prevent you from succeeding in any area of your life more than procrastination.

The subject of procrastination fascinates me!  Why do we not do the things we know should be done?  Why do we put things off or avoid taking action even when we know it would ultimately be in our best interest?  I've been guilty of this and so have you, but I still ask WHY?  I think the answer to these questions can be found by understanding what influences or drives human behavior.  What forces are at work in our lives that push us to take action or not take action?

 

There are, in fact, two powerful forces at work:

1) Our desire to avoid pain

2) Our desire to experience pleasure

Our minds work in such a way that, if we can gain an understanding of how these two forces will determine our behavior, we can use them to create (literally create) the life we desire and eliminate procrastination forever.

Pain and Pleasure

I know it sounds too simple, but don't let that dissuade you from the fact that these two motivators wield great power over the way we behave.   In order to get what you want in your life, you have to figure out what is stopping you from getting it!  When you analyze what is preventing you from taking action, and thus getting what you desire, you will find that it is the desire to avoid pain.  Of these two motivators, pain is the more powerful for you will always do more to avoid pain than you will do to gain pleasure.  When you procrastinate it is because you believe that taking action will bring you more pain than not taking action. 

Let's say that you want to fulfill your dream of starting your own business.  You want to do this because it is pleasurable to know that you will be your own boss, determine your own schedule and perhaps make a lot more money.  All of this is pleasurable, right?  But then, you never begin the process.  Why?  Because you have, in your mind, associated more pain to the effort it will take to start your own business than to the pain you will experience by not taking action and staying where you are!  You truly want to experience the pleasure of having your own business but the pain you've linked to actually starting it is more real to you.  That is what you have focused your mind on!

 

 

The Time Is Now!

 

 

How can you put this knowledge to use and change your life?  You must focus your thoughts and your attention on how procrastinating will bring you more pain than actually taking action.  You must focus your thoughts and your attention on how pleasurable it will be to take action and to begin.  You must decide, right now, that you can and will control the focus of your mind!  You must, in your mind, link ultimate pain to not taking action!  Ask yourself, "What pain will I experience if I do not do this?".  You must also link ultimate pleasure to taking action! 

You have the ability to do this!  Right this moment!  So take action!  Do that thing you've been putting off!  Don't wait another second! Make that phone call, write that song, paint that canvas, or begin the first step to starting your business!  Whatever it it is, start now! 

 

Feel The Earth Beat ~ Check Out This Song!!

 

 

 If you like this song you can check out the entire album HERE!

 

Don't Wait To Create!!

Recently, I collaborated on a song with Robin Easton.  We have received so many wonderful comments on it and it got me thinking (dangerous hobby I know).   Creativity is such a beautiful gift and exploring my own has been life-changing to say the least.   The cool thing is that EVERYONE possesses the ability to be creative!  Yes, even YOU!   All of this thinking about creativity reminded me of an article I published last year.  I feel compelled to share it again.

  There is often a misconception that only a privileged few are able to tap into the divine stream of creativity.  Of course, this is a completely false idea because each and every human being has the capacity to "create" something.  Even if you do not consider yourself to be the "creative type", your creativity is an important part of who you are.  In fact, I will step out and boldly say it is a vital part of who you are!  

 

Finding a creative outlet for yourself is essential if you are to enjoy a fulfilled life.  I've even read where the lack of creative outlets can help to trigger many psychological states such as anxiety, depression and even apathy!  Each of has within us a spirit that is yearning to create and to stifle that spirit is much like suffocating yourself.

 

What does it mean to be creative?  You are creative when you begin something from scratch. It's kind of like starting with nothing and making something, or in simpler terms, creating something new.  Creativity is the place where the mind, body and spirit come together and work in harmony in such a way that expresses our uniqueness in a tangible form.  Creativity can take many forms.  It can be writing, painting, sculpting, playing an instrument, starting a business, cooking, sewing, acting, speaking, photography, computer animation, sketching and so on.  The possibilities are absolutely infinite!

 

  
The act of being creative brings a kind of peace that is impossible to obtain in any other way.  It can also be a form of meditation but one of my favorite things about creativity is that it is a form of love.  It is an expression of love to create something.  It may be love for a partner, a friend, nature, God, the Universe and even love for yourself.  We inspire others when we create and enrich their lives as well as our own.  To limit your creativity is to limit the blessings you can bestow on others, so don't do it!  :-)

 

 

If, at this very moment, you feel your life is lacking, that your dreams and desires have been pushed aside, you may be experiencing the results of limiting your creativity.  If you feel like you just don't have time, then you must make time.  Just as many people have to adjust their lives so that they can make time to go to the gym, so you must adjust your life so that you will have time to create!  As I mentioned earlier, we all have the ability to be creative.  Just like any other talent or skill, it just takes practice and time spent doing it.

 

Please, allow yourself to the opportunity to focus your creative energy in a way that will bring peace to your heart, joy to yourself and others.  Act out your uniqueness!  The world will truly be better because you did!

 

Do you unleash your creativity on a regular basis?  Please share!

Do you wish to unleash your creativity?  Please share your interests!

Living Earth

 

 

 

Today's Sunday Stillnes features a very special guest.  Please welcome Robin Easton!  This wonderful lady has an amazing connection,  not only with the Earth upon which she lives, but also with it's inhabitants.   She is the author of the incredible book Naked In Eden.  Robin is also an extremely talented musician who, as I have recently discovered, has a beautiful voice! 

Recently, while on one of her frequent nature adventures, Robin was given a gift.  This gift was in form of a song, which she later recorded in a stairwell because of the awesome acoustics and natural reverb of the space.  Robin sent me this song and asked if I'd like to "do something" with it, and I enthusiastically accepted.  The song I received was perfect and needed nothing to be added, though I did come up with something I hope is worthy of her song.   Enjoy.  =)

 

 

Leave The Harbor!

  

Photo Credit ~ Jon Degenhardt

 

 

 

" A ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not

what ships are built for."

                                                                                                                                             - John A. Shedd

 

 

Comfort.  Security.  Stability.  Familiar.  We all want our lives to have these things, and yet, we also want to accomplish great things, be extraordinary, experience new and wonderful things.  Sometimes we nearly succeed in convincing ourselves that we can have much, but risk little.  This simply is not true.  Any worthwhile endeavor, any good thing worth the effort it takes to obtain it will have attached to it an element of risk.  Finding your true love is amazing, life changing and euphoric yet there is the risk of being hurt or rejected.  Discovering your purpose in life is indescribably fulfilling, yet there is the risk of being misunderstood or even unappreciated.

Sail Your Ship!

Using the analogy contained in the quote at the beginning of this article, your life is like a ship.  You can anchor your life in the harbor, in the familiar surroundings you've grown accustomed to, and never risk a change of any kind.  This is safe, right?  The problem is that this is not what the ship (your life) was built for!  The ship (your life) was designed to move, to experience new surroundings, arrive at new destinations and all the while making the journey an adventure!  If a ship never leaves the harbor it will eventually decay to the point of becoming useless because it wasn't designed to be stagnant.  It was designed to sail out of the harbor, bravely entering the vastness of the open sea and all of its possibilities.  The same is true of your life and mine.

                    

 It's so easy to get "caught up" in life.  The bills, the kids, the job, the house, and somewhere, way down at the bottom of our to-do list, we pencil in our dreams.  You know what?  No one ever gets around to doing the last thing on their to-do list!

Like No Other

If we are to be successful, fulfilled and truly happy we must leave the harbor.  Each of us are unique and have something no one else does.  We're all human with the same basic needs, and heck, we probably even all share the same universal consciousness, but we are still unique!  I am different than you and you are different than me!  We each have our own viewpoint, interpretation, and thoughts about people and our world.  I read something in a book recently that said that "the world needs what we have to offer.  If it didn't, we wouldn't be here!"  If we stay anchored in the harbor, how can we make a difference in the world?

 

 

 

"Do One Thing Every Day That Scares You" -                                                         

                                                                                      ~Eleanor Roosevelt

 

 

 

Are there opportunities for you, right now, that perhaps you've been putting off or avoiding?  Are there actions you could be taking that you know would set you on the path to success and fulfillment?  Has fear of the unknown, failure or rejection kept you stationary?  Has the effort required to sail your life into the sea of possibility kept you anchored in the harbor?  

I am choosing, right this moment, to not allow fear or any form of laziness to stagnate my life.  I've hoisted anchor, my ship is moving toward the open sea.  As I stand on the bow, the wind in my face and the salty spray fills the air around me, I am both wonderfully frightened and emboldened for what lies ahead.  It is unknown and full of possibility.  I embrace the adventure of the journey as much as I will embrace my destination. 

I hope to see you out there.....

"He Who Is Brave Is Free"  -Seneca

 

 

The Journey

 

 

 

A New Beginning

 

 

 

 

Okay gang,  it's February and 2011 is well under way!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are now ready for a year filled with opportunities, because it will be!  I know you have goals and/or dreams you want to achieve, so let's take a look at a basic method that will help take you where you want to go!   Life is now . . Don't Wait!

 

This is a Test of The Reticular Activating System!

Have you ever heard of the Reticular Cortex?  It's a complex net of neurons that emerge from the brain stem and touch many, or perhaps all, parts of the human brain.  Basically, the Reticular Activating System (RAS) is the attention center of the brain and is where the world outside of ourselves and our inner world of feeling and thought meet.  Here is an example of how it works:

Imagine you're in a crowded room, filled with the background noise of dozens of conversations, music, laughter and cell phones ringing.  How much of this noise is actually brought to your attention?  Not very much.  You hear it all but you are not focused on each individual sound.  Out of this chaotic din comes the familiar voice of a friend calling your name and suddenly your attention is switched on!  This is one way the RAS works.  It automatically brings relevant information to our attention as it filters out non-relevant information.

 

Here's another example:

Have you ever purchased a type of car that you've never owned before and now it seems you suddenly see them absolutely everywhere?  That's your RAS at work!  It is bringing to your attention information that is now relevant to you.  I promise you that those cars have been there all along, but you just had them "tuned out" because they weren't relevant to you at the time.

 

  

 

Awareness!

All of that is important because this is how you can begin the process of actually reaching the goal you have set for yourself.  The RAS can be programmed to work for you and this is done by choosing the exact message your conscious mind sends to your sub-conscious mind. 

Here's what I mean.  The more you think about your goal and how to achieve it, the more you will begin to "attract" the people, opportunities, resources and ideas that will help you move toward your goal.  Because you are constantly thinking about your goal, and ways to achieve it, your conscious mind is continually sending these messages to your sub-conscious mind. Your sub-conscious will then program your RAS to bring to your attention all information that is relevant to that goal.  It is very likely that these people, opportunities and resources have been there all along but you did not see them.  Why? Because your RAS had not been programmed to bring that information to your attention!  Do you see how powerful a tool the RAS is when it comes to reaching goals?

 

 

Inner = Outer

What and how you think will have a direct effect upon how you experience life.  If you focus on negative things and attitudes then that is what you will see because that is what you have programmed your RAS to bring to your attention.  Conversely, if you focus on positive attitudes and things your RAS will bring to your attention the same.  Your outer world is a reflection of your inner world!

 

 

 

Simple as 1, 2, 3

 

1) Be clear.  State exactly what your goal is.  Clarity is required.

2) Think on this goal, and methods you will use to achieve it, constantly.  Must have intense desire.

3) Notice what is now being brought to your attention.  Be prepared to act upon opportunities and avail yourself of resources that will now come to your attention.

 

 Remember:  What you focus on grows!