Review your life

"Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action."

-- James Levin

Take a few minutes today to reflect on what has happened recently and to put the last week in perspective. What made an impact on you this last week? What do you want to set as a goal for next week?

Reflection helps us step back from the details of our lives and see the bigger picture with fresh eyes. It's worth a few moments of your time. Review your week and come up with at least one conclusion, insight or learning and write it in your journal.

“Just because we increase the speed of information doesn't mean we can increase the speed of decisions. Pondering, reflecting and ruminating are undervalued skills in our culture.”

-- Dale Dauten

Access your own inner wisdom by tapping into your subconscious and intuition. Release stress, blocks and negative emotions, and spark imagination and greater vision.

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Open to trust

“When I grip the wheel too tight, I find I lose control.”

-- Steve Rapson

WE SEEK TO CONTROL OUR LIVES WHEN WE DO NOT TRUST, WHEN WE DO NOT LOVE. Our ego, perceiving itself to be vulnerable and insecure, uses control in an effort to protect itself.

At the root of our need to control, we find FEAR. It may be fear of the unknown. Fear of not coping. Fear of loss. Or possibly even fear of looking stupid. And as our efforts to control other people and events invariably fail, our fear increases.

Trust, on the other hand, is a quality of the soul. While control is a tool of the mind, TRUST AND FAITH ARE ASPECTS OF THE HEART. Trust comes with the deep knowing that we are spiritual beings in physical bodies. When we trust enough in life to give up our need to control, we can relax and open to the flow of energy in our lives. This brings peace of mind.

"The only real security in life lies in relishing life's insecurity."

-- M. Scott Peck

"Do not abandon trust when your ego thinks things should be different than they are."

-- Wayne Dyer

Discover the power of trusting yourself. Connect with your inner guidance that knows the way. Life can be easier and more fulfilling. Enhance and explore your intuition. 

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Communicating without words

“The gesture is the thing truly expressive of the individual – as we think so will we act.” -- Martha Graham Every movement and non-movement we make is a form of communication. How do you communicate fear, withdrawal, avoidance, shutting down, disagreeing, and an uncaring attitude? If you aren’t sure, others can probably tell you. Begin to pay attention to what your eyes and arms and facial expressions communicate. Our body language speaks louder than our words. “An avoidance of true communication is tantamount to a relinquishment of my self-being; if I withdraw from it I am betraying not only the other but myself.” -- Karl Jaspers Why are you here? Open youreslf to more meaning and fulfillment by exploring your life purpose.

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Inspired to change?

Are you getting the most benefit from these short Inner Journeys? Here are some ways to progressively stimulate more and more growth and change from these messages:

- Read them quickly for momentary inspiration and move on to the next email.
- Print them and keep them visible so you are conscious of the message during the day.
- Take just 30 seconds and write in your journal as little as one word or a few sentences about how you connect with each message.
- Take just 3 to 5 minutes to relax, reflect and contemplate on the messages that touch you. And then write a short note in your journal.
- When a message really hits home, make the effort to explore the program that delves into that topic more deeply.

At a minimum, if a message strikes any nerve at all, take a few seconds to become aware of what nerve was struck and what it means to you.

This process builds awareness, and awareness brings change and growth - automatically!

"Everyone stumbles over the truth from time to time, but most people pick themselves up and hurry off as though nothing ever happened."

-- Sir Winston Churchill

Awareness is the key to all change. Begin to trust yourself more deeply as you uncover new dimensions of who you are.

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Believe you are a creator

"Every moment of your life is infinitely creative and the universe is endlessly bountiful. Just put forth a clear enough request, and everything your heart desires must come to you."

-- Shakti Gawain

We hold the power to create whatever we desire. Our ability to manifest the changes we desire depends on the depth and passion of our beliefs and on the focus of our attention.

With this understanding, we, as individuals and as society, can design a whole new future for ourselves. Our challenge is to break free of society’s world view, to truly empower our imaginations to create brand new realities. It brings a whole new meaning to ‘vision.’

What do you passionately desire for your own life? For the planet?

"By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The non-existent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired."

-- Nikos Kazantzakis

Tackle your financial challenges holistically! Realise the basic steps to managing money, explore your beliefs around wealth, and open yourself to the spiritual laws of abundance 

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Define 'rich'

"It ain't so much trouble to get rich as it is to tell when we have got rich." -- Josh Billings How do you define ‘rich’? If you want greater wealth, what does that mean for you? A large annual income? If so, how large? A beautiful home? Health? Security? Happiness? To be in service? Get really specific about what would bring you a rich life. There are no right and wrong answers here. Don’t judge your desires. Just dig deep to discover what it is that you really want. If you want things, explore what qualities of life those things represent to you. "No one can tell whether they are richer or poor by turning to their ledger. It is the heart that makes a person rich. One is rich according to what one is, not according to what one has." -- Henry Ward Beecher "If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free. If our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed." -- Edmund Burke Who are you, REALLY? To truly know yourself, you need to explore your subconscious mind. Delve into yourself to reveal and release the subconscious beliefs that sabotage your highest intentions...

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Go for passion!

"There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life." -- Frederico Fellini How do you ration your passion? In what situations have you experienced your life to the fullest? Do you live your passion as fully as you can? How do you limit your experience of passion? Passion emerges when your essence expresses itself. How do you stop yourself from fully expressing who you are? "Without passion man is a mere latent force and possibility, like the flint which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark." -- Henri Frederic Amiel "We could hardly wait to get up in the morning." -- Wilbur Wright Why are you here? Rather,open to more meaning and fulfillment by exploring your life purpose.

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Be aware of your motives

"Ordinarily, everything we do is in our self-interest. Everything." -- Anthony de Mello "Remember, most of the things you think you need are ego trips designed to bolster your image and your perception of security.... You'll waste a lot of energy satisfying your ego only to find that, as soon as it's got what it wants, it ignores all your efforts and promptly nails another list of demands to your forehead. The ego will always try to force you to slave for its vision. I wouldn't stand for that BS if I were you." -- Stuart Wilde "We have no need to teach pure motives to the mind. All that is necessary to make the mind pure is to undo the negative conditioning to which it has been subjected; then we will be left with pure, unconditioned awareness." -- Eknath Easwaran Access your own inner wisdom by tapping into your subconscious and intuition. Release stress, blocks and negative emotions, and spark imagination and greater vision.

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Believe in your own success

"What you believe yourself to be, you are."

-- Claude M. Bristol

Do you believe, deep down inside of you, that you can succeed in what you want to do?

Beliefs are strong, and they have the power to attract what is believed to us. If we doubt our ability to succeed, if we in fact believe we WON'T succeed, then sure enough, that’s what will happen.

What do you believe about yourself? You have the power to change your beliefs, and that will change your outcome. Set goals you believe you can accomplish. Your beliefs will shape your actions. As you achieve these goals, you'll begin to believe you are capable of succeeding and of doing even more.

"It is better to believe than to disbelieve; in so doing you bring everything to the realm of possibility."

-- Albert Einstein

"Believe it can be done. When you believe something can be done, really believe, your mind will find the ways to do it. Believing a solution paves the way to solution."

-- Dr. David Schwartz

We don’t change overnight. Personal growth does require dogged persistence... 

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Ego's tricks

"One of the great dangers of transformational work is that the ego attempts to sidestep deep psychological work by leaping into the transcendent too soon. This is because the ego always fancies itself much more ‘advanced’ than it actually is." -- Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson The Tibetan teacher, Chogyam Trungpa, warned of the trap of spiritual materialism. He says we must be ever diligent to spot the ego’s use of the spiritual journey to further its own ends. We may think it’s spiritual to yearn for divine connection. And yet, if the longing is to fill an emptiness inside, just how does this differ from the one who yearns for money or possessions to fill the inner void? Do we look to our spiritual practices as proof of our evolved consciousness or as protection against fears? Any time we use spiritual disciplines to maintain our identity and security, we are not yet on the path of genuine spiritual development. "Enlightenment is ego’s ultimate disappointment." -- Chögyam Trungpa Journey through the traps of ego into a life of meaning, purpose, joy and service...

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One step at a time

"What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step." -- Antoine De Saint-Exupery Does the prospect of changing and growing seem monumental to you? Just too much to tackle? Then consider this approach. Take a simple step of affirming your openness to experience more or something new. Or a different first step might be to let go of judgment by embracing the neutral. Begin to see the people, activities and things around you as neither good nor bad. A journey is made of many small steps. Don’t focus on a far-off destination if you’re not clear how to get there. Build a foundation that is solid for you. We get to new places one step at a time. "You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." -- Martin Luther King, Jr. "One may walk over the highest mountain one step at a time." -- John Wanamaker Why are you here? Open to more meaning and fulfillment by exploring your life purpose.

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Spiritual pathways

"In any way that men love me in that same way they find my love: for many are the paths of men, but they all in the end come to me."

-- Song of God, Bhagavad Gita

Spirit - the life force - exists in everything. It follows, then, that ANY path, any encounter is spiritual if we have the awareness to see it as such. Going deeper, going higher, emptying, connecting, believing or disbelieving, bouncing off the bottom, experiencing the heights, in pain, in ecstasy ....

Too often, we search afar for our own purpose when it is in our lives all the time, waiting for us to express it more openly. Bring greater awareness to each encounter and situation in life. Tune in to what you are inspired to do, who you are inspired to be. Your answers are waiting for you to pay attention - every moment!

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

-- Greg Anderson

Try to shift from the self-centered, controlling behaviours of the ego to the power, love and wisdom of the soul 

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Did you find joy?

"The future, higher evolution will belong to those who live in joy, who share joy, and who spread joy."

-- Torkom Saraydarian

Joy, as the energy of love, is the highest vibration on this planet. Everything in the universe is energy; it can be measured and reduced to vibrational frequencies. It’s a universal law that as we think and feel we vibrate, and as we vibrate we attract. When we are in the high joy vibration, we attract what is for our greater good.

The Ancient Egyptians saw Joy as a sacred responsibility. They believed that upon their death, the God Osiris would ask them two questions: "Did you bring Joy?" and "Did you find Joy?" Those who answered ‘yes’ could continue their journey into the afterlife.

For at least the next week or two, ask yourself these two questions each and every day: Did I bring joy? Did I find joy?

"Man loves because he is Love. He seeks Joy, for he is Joy. He thirsts for God for he is composed of God and he cannot exist without Him."

-- Sathya Sai Baba

Like beauty, joy is one of the highest vibrations on this planet. Bring the joy that's already inside you to life...

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Are you afraid to be different?

On the path of evolution, we move from being a willing and obedient member of the group to wanting to take control over our own lives. This is a necessary but difficult transition. Andrew Schneider says, "At this point we are afraid of being ourselves. We are afraid of being unique and different. We are afraid of being individually powerful, and even successful. For all of these things stand against the old ways that told us that conformity was right and individualism was wrong. "For as long as we possibly can, we make a compromise. We try to live both lives - the dependent tribal life and the independent personal life - as contradictory and opposite as they are. "We want approval from others. We want to be accepted and popular. We seek this comfort to overcome our fear and feel more secure. ...So, at times when we conform, we don’t feel the fear of living. But we might lose the new sense of adventure, discovery, daring and enthusiasm for life that the questioning and questing have brought us." "Nature never repeats herself, and the possibilities of one human soul will never be found in another." -- Elizabeth Cady Stanton A journey through the traps of ego into a life of meaning, purpose, joy and service...

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What's important?

"Where you are headed is more important than how fast you are going. Rather than always focusing on what's urgent, learn to focus on what is really important." -- Stephen Covey Time management is all about making decisions. At each step of the way, we want to choose activities that best support what we want to do with our lives. To do this, we need to be clear about our short and long-term goals. Here’s a general question to ask yourself often: "Is this the best use of my time in terms of meeting my goals?" Sometimes, of course, we don't have any choice. But ask yourself honestly, "Could I take more control if I really wanted to?" Often, we play the victim because we don't want to make the effort to change our behaviour. "Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time,' is like saying, 'I don't want to.'" -- Lao-Tzu Be self-supported for one next one year to have clear goals and stay on track.You will definitely make your next year much better than the last year.

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Slow down and enjoy

"Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience."

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Racing through life is very stressful. If we stay in high gear too long, we lose our ability to shift down. And when we're stressed, we can't access happiness, appreciation, fun, compassion, generosity, awareness of beauty and other wonderful qualities. High stress also triggers negative emotions like frustration, impatience, anger and fear.

Life has so much to offer if we will slow down and truly experience it. We must always remember that we are the ones in control of the accelerator. We CAN choose to brake.

"Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast -- you also miss the sense of where you are going and why."

-- Eddie Cantor

Never have time for what you really want in life? Take control of the time of your life by changing your mind. Understand time from a higher perspective... 

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The past in the present

"If you accept a limiting belief, then it will become a truth for you." -- Louise Hay Pick one aspect of your life, e.g. your health, your competence, your prosperity or relationships, and think back to when you were a child. What messages about this subject did you hear from adults at that time that are still playing on your subconscious tape recorder? Messages like: "Men can't be trusted." "Money doesn't grow on trees." "You're not smart enough to succeed in business." How is your world reflecting your beliefs back to you, today? "There are no limitations to the self except those you believe in." -- Seth Clearing blocks transforms our lives. Try and discover a whole new way of working with life's challenges...

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Big mind, little mind

"It is the mind that makes one wise or ignorant, bound or emancipated." -- Sri Ramakrishna Zen distinguishes big mind from small mind. Big mind identifies with its process, is impersonal and participates universally. Big mind is unlimited possibilities, deeper understanding, forgiveness, acceptance, insight, connectedness, attention. Small mind is self centred and focuses only on itself. It is compulsive, limited, reactive and mechanical. Small mind feeds on itself -- fear reacts to fear, judgment reacts to judgment, anger sparks more anger. Always seek higher perspectives and you will in time find freedom. "If a pickpocket meets a Holy Man, he will see only his pockets." -- Hari Dass "Minds are like parachutes; they work best when open." -- Lord Thomas Dewar We don’t change overnight. Personal growth requires persistence.

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The face in the mirror

"Our inability to see beauty doesn’t suggest in the slightest that beauty is not there. Rather, it suggests that we are not looking carefully enough or with broad enough perspective to see the beauty." -- Rabbi Harold Kushner Who are you? You can gaze at your reflection in a mirror but you’re not likely to see your true likeness. You are beautiful, unique, perfect. Do you see that? The world needs you to see how whole and complete you are -- now. Can you begin to own your divinity? The world needs you to know who you really are so you can be the mirror for others. "The sun shines not on us but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing." -- John Muir Journey through the traps of ego into a life of meaning, purpose, joy and service. Embark on your own soul journey...

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Do you love yourself?

"At the heart of personality is the need to feel a sense of being lovable without having to qualify for that acceptance." -- Dr. Paul Tournier How do you see yourself as unlovable? Take a few minutes to write down why you perceive yourself to be unlovable. Look at the list and see if you can identify where those characterizations originated. Can you pinpoint old messages from parents, teachers, and friends that led you to negative conclusions about yourself? Are those messages valid today? The beliefs we adopt as children usually don't hold when we view them objectively as adults. Can you let them go? Can you begin to see yourself as a unique expression of life, a genuine gift to the world? "You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." -- Buddha "Limitless like the ocean are your excellent qualities." -- Dalai Lama

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Love life and yourself

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage." -- Lao Tzu There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life. "It matters not Who you love, Where you love, Why you love, When you love, Or how you love, It matters only that you love." -- John Lennon "Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?" -- Frank Scully Know Yourself – An adventure in self discovery! Become aware of your subconscious limitations, your character strengths, weaknesses and potentials, your life challenges, gifts, talents, and your deepest desires and aspirations...

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You are bigger than you think

"He who would be serene and pure needs but one thing, detachment." -- Meister Eckhart We are the ocean -- vast, deep, powerful and rich. Nourishing and nurturing. Dive down into the dark stillness of being. Sense the rising and falling of surface thoughts and emotions, sometimes gentle, sometimes violent. Always shifting. Always in motion. Draw back and watch the waves of your life at play. Know you are the unfathomable depths -- surface agitations can’t disturb you. Know that you are bigger than the little things that aggravate you. "The bird of paradise alights only on the hand that does not grasp." -- John Berry "It’s best not to get too excited or too depressed by the ups and downs of life." -- Dalai Lama Access your own inner wisdom by tapping into your subconscious and intuition. Release stress, blocks and negative emotions, and spark imagination and greater vision...

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The power of silence

"Growth takes place in a person by working at a deep inner level in a sustained atmosphere of silence." -- Dr. Ira Progoff How can we hear our wise voice of intuition if we are always thinking, talking and distracted by outer events? If we take time daily to experience physical stillness and to direct our attention inside, we can begin to find the peace, love, will and wisdom that exist as our essence. "Only when one is connected to one's own core is one connected to others... And, for me, the core, the inner spring, can best be refound through solitude." -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh "In the sweet territory of silence we touch the mystery. It’s the place of reflection and contemplation, and it’s the place where we can connect with the deep knowing, to the deep wisdom way." -- Angeles Arrien Step by step, progressively learn basic meditation methods to relax, concentrate, focus, reflect, contemplate and illuminate...

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Seek your limits and beyond

"If you're proactive, you don't have to wait for circumstances or other people to create perspective expanding experiences. You can consciously create your own."

-- Stephen Covey

Connect with the edge, the unknown, of your experience. Allow this pull towards unexplored territory to take you to new dimensions of yourself. Allow life to touch you in new ways. For this is how we truly live life. Become more alive as you grow through your consciousness barriers. Ask questions that seek answers beyond yourself. The depth of life is revealed as you go further into it.

Nothing is lost upon a man who is bent upon growth; nothing wasted on one who is always preparing for... life by keeping eyes, mind and heart open to nature, men, books, experience.... What he gathers serves him at unexpected moments in unforeseen ways."

-- Hamilton Wright Mabie

"Nurture great thoughts, for you will never go higher than your thoughts."

-- Benjamin Disraeli

Explore what blocks and enhances intuition. Your answers and guidance lie within...

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Ordinary can be awesome

"Everything in life can be nourishing. Everything can bless us, but we've got to be there for the blessing to occur. Being present with quality is a decision we are invited to make each day."

-- MacRina Wiederkehr

Spirit is not only found in holy places, prayer and meditation, yoga and retreats. It is everywhere -- in your relationships, your work, your daily chores, in nature ... if you are willing to connect deeply with your environment.

Open to connect with something and you open to its essence, its purpose and meaning. There are other dimensions of reality below what we normally see and hear. Open to the mystery.

"We live in a world of theophanies. Holiness comes wrapped in the ordinary. There are burning bushes all around you. Every tree is full of angels. Hidden beauty is waiting in every crumb. Life wants to lead you from crumbs to angels, but this can happen only if you are willing to unwrap the ordinary by staying with it long enough to harvest its treasure."

-- Macrina Wiederkehr

Journey through the traps of ego into a life of meaning, purpose, joy and service to realise the inner potential. 

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Create space

"All this talk and turmoil and noise and movement and desire is outside of the veil; within the veil is silence and calm and rest."

-- Bayazid al-Bistami

We need to create space if we desire to change and grow. Only in emptiness can meaning, intuitive guidance and truth arise.

Give yourself space by spending time in nature, taking an hour or day off, enjoying quiet moments for reflection. Take time to smell the roses. Breathe in the wonder of life and its bounty. Open so your deeper awareness and imagination can percolate through mundane thoughts and activities. Let go of both resistance and force to allow yourself to connect more deeply to life.

"I do only want to advise you to keep growing quietly and seriously throughout your whole development; you cannot disturb it more rudely than by looking outward and expecting from outside replies to questions that only your inmost feeling in your most hushed hour can perhaps answer."

-- Rainer Maria Rilke

"I am glad that so much movement happens in this stillness."

-- Richard Land

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Follow your own path

"Life is complex. Each one of us must make his own path through life. There are no self-help manuals, no formulas, no easy answers. The right road for one is the wrong road for another ... The journey of life is not paved in blacktop; it is not brightly lit, and it has no road signs. It is a rocky path through the wilderness." -- M. Scott Peck We each have our own pathways to develop both personally and spiritually. They are based on our character and past experiences. No one else can identify our paths for us. Tune in to your inner guidance system and follow its direction. "What every man needs, regardless of his job or the kind of work he is doing, is a vision of what his place is and may be. He needs an objective and a purpose. He needs a feeling and a belief that he has some worthwhile thing to do. What this is no one can tell him. It must be his own creation." -- Joseph M. Dodge Watch yourself shift from the self-centered, controlling behaviours of the ego to the power, love and wisdom of the soul and realise your own true worth...

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