The Essentials of a Good Life

The ONE Self

The sum total of your life lived will not be what you have done nor gained but in who you have been while journeying on this little blue planet called Earth. The courage and risk needed for meaningful success on this journey and adventure can only be enhanced once you acknowledge and recognize the only change you ever needed was not outside yourself, but within.

In the finding, cultivation and practice of innocence, in the subjective experience of freedom that occurs as a result of finding out Who You Are, you rediscover a divinity and peace that lies within: and the emergence of a new life and humanity dawns. The unfolding experience of awareness and inner wisdom is the only true doorway to the freedom and peace you seek in your own life and the world you live in.

The most important relationship you will have is the relationship you have with the Self. It is through the relationship you have to the Self that will create a relationship with life. The level of intimacy that you achieve with that Self will draw you into an intimate relationship with life, and through the internal growth and cultivation of that inner relationship you will be inspired and strengthened to cultivate and express within all external relationships.

The dialogue of this inner conversation and transformation will be less about doing and more about being. The bond of this relationship and the opportunity within the experience called life, is rare, precious and delicate; its consummation, profound. To know the Self is the greatest gift you could bring to all your relations; your life is the story of this adventure...

The Practices:

In the legacy of my life I will have received two gifts:
what I gave to myself and what I brought to this world.
I will remind myself daily how I intend to live my life.
Boredom and fear, struggle and suffering, are prompts from my Soul to move beyond my present life experience and perception to the next step and adventure in my evolution.
I will stop living my life vicariously;
I will abandon who I was and surrender to who I can be.

I will practice taking care of my Self first and in this knowingness find the energy, vitality, inspiration and integrity to be of help to others when needed.
I will take care to not distract or lose my Self in the noise and nonsense of life.
I will not be discouraged.
I will not allow my Self to be overshadowed; to become a slave of circumstance or situations that may be present as part of my daily life experience.

I will be clear.
I will be consistent.
I will be constant in the discovery and expression of my authentic Self.
I will listen to the validity of my own inner voice; to guide and support, to serve my Self and others.
I will live within the guidelines of my own inner integrity; living life with a passionate commitment to what feels important, right and true for me.
I will become what I practice.

While life may sometimes feel like a struggle, I will remind myself of its promise and potential.
In Spirit I believe without a doubt all things are possible.
My current life experience mirrors my present set of beliefs about myself and the world I live in.
I choose to believe in a future unshaped by external circumstance.
I choose to see it shaped instead by the creative capacity of my own inner wisdom and ONE Self.
What I choose to believe I will subjectively become.
Sooner or later, I will learn to question all beliefs I have about myself and the world I live in.
While my thoughts may appear to have the power, and my actions may suggest I have impact, it is the relationship I have to my inner being that will gently foster the greatest potential and possibility.
Fully awakened and in awareness, the Self will effortlessly be.

Self ~ intimacy demands that I live my truth regardless of the consequences.

I was born to cultivate a dream and to share it with humanity.
To know is not enough; I will take mindful action towards my intentions, desires and dreams.
The quality of my journey proceeds from the quality of the choices I make for this adventure and dream.
Every choice I make is an action; every step I take, perfect.
I will pursue choices in life that cultivate my dreams;
I will live those aspirations like no other.
I will elevate the gifts and talents that I have been given to create the dream I envision.

Desire:

What dream and vision do I have for my life now?

Desire is the language of my Soul; I will listen.
What I desire I become.
Where I find inspiration I will also find joy.
Where I find joy I will find the life throb of the ages.
When I know where I'm going, I'll find a way to get there.
I will weave a dream of greatness, by living a life of fulfilled desire.
I will work with vision, I will live with passion.
I will play BIG with all my visions.

Spirit dwells within the innocence of my every desire.

I will surrender myself to the seeds of my most innocent desires.
I will surrender each moment to the past while experiencing something incredibly new in the present.
I will commit my Self to those desires and dreams; they will become my destiny.
When I believe in my Self and the visions I have for my life, I have the power to transform not only my own life but the world I live in; ONE vision, ONE energy, ONE life, ONE dream.

Authenticity:

There is no escape from my small self except through practice.
I will practice being my Self all the time.
I will accept who I am at every moment and practice compassion if I fail.
I will be a witness to not only my own thoughts but also my actions.
When I practice an attitude of acceptance, thought and action become sacred.
With practice comes mastery.
I will define my Self by Who I am being, not by what I am doing.
I will spend time with my Self and in silence, remember.
In silence I will remember the Universe dwells within me, as me.
I will come to know this ONE Self through the wisdom of experience and the ever present silence behind the mind.
I will realize this single, ONE Self and its existence in the present moment, now.

Where will I place my attention?

My authentic ONE Self is intuitive, creative, nourishing and wise.
I will meditate on this Self.
I will center myself.
I will quiet myself.
I will become that ONE Self.
I will practice connecting with my own inner energy and wisdom.
Daily, I will rediscover the life expression of this ONE Spirit.
I will find solace in the silence of my mind; while listening to the wind in the trees or the sound of innocent children playing.
I will see my Self reflected in the branches of a majestic cedar tree;
on the top of one hundred glacial mountain peaks;
and on the shores of a thousand ocean beaches.
I will rejoice in the blessings of my senses.
I will see, hear, touch, feel, and smell this great Earth and experience it as an extension of my own body.
I will honor my body as I also honor this Earth.
I will protect this body, as I also protect this Earth.
I will remember this Earth and all Universes are the playground of ONE primordial being.

Realization:

The path to this realization is through stillness.
The purpose of my meditation is not to acquire, gain, or attain, but to reveal.
My mind is still, my breath is deep, my body is quiet.
In silence my mind remembers; my body knows.
Self knowledge produces the wisdom of wholeness and the experience of perfection.
When my mind is quiet and still, there can only be joy.
In silence I find bliss; in solitude, my Soul awakens.
A single moment of pure, Self awareness is worth a lifetime of good deeds.
I will be a silent witness to all that happens.

Mastery of the mind awakens the magic of the ONE great Soul.

I express gratitude and reverence for my Self!
Innocence, joy and freedom dwell within that Self.
I was never what I took myself to be.
What I seek lies within me, waiting.
I will find out Who I AM.
In solitude I belong to the Self.
At the "Source" there is absolute perfection, and a simplicity and contentment in Being.

What brings meaning and purpose also brings joy.
In awareness I find infinite, unbounded freedom.
All life flows from me, not to me.
I Am the source of all subjective joy and pain in my life.
As I cultivate an inner awareness of Spirit as joy, I will need no outside stimulus.
Awareness within becomes the source and substance of all my good.

Life becomes effortless when I am aware of my own inner perfection.

My Inner peace exists in this present moment: now.
I surrender to the nobility that I AM, and abandon all that I'm not.
I will awaken to the now, to my own inner divinity and holiness.
I will change the world ONE perception at a time;
I will begin with my own.
I will be the change I want to see in this world.

The power of my inner divinity has the power to transform.
It is inner relationship that opens the door to fulfillment of all my dreams
where all thoughts and actions become sacred.
The gift of my life is a bridge between Spirit and form.

More is always built on the foundation of less.

I embrace the perception of creation.
I will receive in life what I believe myself to be worthy of.
I am worthy.
I receive now.

Questions:

During the course of my life I will ask myself many questions. To know where I am heading I just need to listen to the questions I ask myself at every moment. Sometimes when I ask those questions I will receive a response to every situation as it occurs and at other times I might need to sit with those questions, to accept those unresolved questions unconditionally as part of the mystery of my life experience.

Most will search outside themselves for answers; they will seek a personal happiness and will never really be satisfied. Many will ask questions that dwell only on the practical necessities of life and as a result, live lives of mediocrity. As I practice asking myself my most meaningful questions, I will learn to navigate not only the journey of my life but also, the mystery of my Soul. Some of the most important questions I can ask are:

Who Am I?

What do I want?

Why am I here?

And,

What will I build?

Where will I go?

Who will I be?

These questions will eventually merge to become one:

What am I doing for others and how can I contribute more to the planet I live on?

I will ask questions only my Soul can answer; questions that bring clarity, purpose and meaning to my life.
I will traverse my life experience with questions based on concern, inquiry, need and affirmation.
I will ask my self Ten Questions to provide a foundation for the emerging new me and life.
I will be attentive to the Spirit of the ONE who is asking, the ONE who listens, the ONE who sees, the ONE who smells, the ONE who feels, the ONE who tastes.

I will be attentive to the ONE source of all humanity.

10 Questions for a New Humanity:

1) What aspirations do I have that, if pursued, could provide the preamble for more peace, passion, inspiration and transformation in my life and the world I live in?

2) Do the dreams, desires, gifts and talents I pursue, enhance and elevate the resilience I have to my own life experience, to my own inner wisdom and the service I could provide to the ONE greater Earth community?

3) How can I elevate the visions and aspirations I have for my life so they are synchronized in solidarity and kinship with all others?

4) What changes do I need to make in the way I live my life that, if made, could improve the quality of my own well being and the well being of the greater world?

5) How can I live my life with greater admiration and reverence towards my Self and others?

6) What unspoken words and conversations do I need to have or hear to foster a culture of peace and affirmation?

7) What values do I need to enhance or adopt to form a solid foundation for a personal, sacred trust towards sustaining a new life and world?

8) How can I live my life with a greater reverence and humility for the mystery of Being; with enhanced gratitude for the gift of life, and with greater humility regarding my place in nature?

9) What can I do to elevate the shared responsibility I have in the stewardship of this ONE Earth and ONE humanity towards the intention and goal of creating ONE global, just, sustainable and peaceful society?

10) Recognizing that my life is both interdependent and interconnected with all people and things, what three principles am I willing to commit to, affirm and cultivate to elevate a sustainable, ethical way of being for my Self and the planet I live on?

The Doctrine of ONE:

I AM the world I live in.

There is but ONE creation and Self.
All things appear in me and yet I AM beyond all things.
All existence is my existence.
All happiness is my happiness.
All suffering is my suffering.

I will relinquish my obsession with the past while waiving speculation of an imagined future.
I will be present with what is.

With concern and attention focused on the present, I will find response to every situation as it occurs.
The greatest gift I have is Self and life.
The perfect moment is now.
Now is a good time for joy.
Now is a good time for purpose, meaning and quiet attention.
Now is a moment of opportunity to rediscover my innocence, to express my excellence, and to serve humanity.
Now I become a knower of reality.
I set right all ideas of the ONE Self.
I realize the ONE-ness, timeless, dimensionless perfection of my own inner being where nothing can be gained and nothing can be lost.

Living The Doctrine of ONE, I will be attentive to the present moment now:

* The purpose of life is the expansion of happiness on all levels.

* The wisdom of happiness, while subjective can be enhanced; harmony occurs when my happiness and the happiness of another meet.

By recognizing the essence of all happiness is never found in things; things that are grasped or feared, things that we identify ourselves with.
Genuine happiness is realized by abandoning who we were; to find out Who We Are.

* We find out Who We Are through investigation, enquiry and detachment, by stepping onto the path of unlearning and by cultivating an attentive, quiet mind.

In awareness we find freedom from the known.
By stepping into the unknown we lose ourselves to the potential of Who We Are:
a field of infinite possibilities, unbounded by space and time.

* Finding out Who We Are is not about having more, doing more, or being more.

It's not finding our success or preventing failure
it's not about fixing, changing, getting or losing
it's not about being saved or purifying the ONE self
it has nothing to do with what you eat, what you wear, or what you believe
it depends not on whether you are man or woman, black or white, gay or straight or whether see and think of yourself as a Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim or Jew.

Finding out Who You Are has nothing to do with what you know or don't know.
It's not about discovering past lives, the burning of the seeds of Karma or the gaming of reincarnation.
Finding out Who You Are has nothing to do with priests or profits, gurus or God (s), dogmas or traditions.
It's not about mastering a particular asana or the use of a specific mudra.
It matters not whether you have meditated for one year or twenty.

* First, you imagined this:

I am separate, I am a sinner, I am a Saint. I am blocked, I am gay or straight. I am black or white; I am a Christian, a Muslim, a Hindu or Jew. Once imagined, you entertained and filled your mind with self engendered thoughts and beliefs. You identified with all that you imagined the self to be.

As you endorsed the illusion of an imaginary self, you temporarily distracted yourself from Who You Are. You created a story and then you lost yourself in the nonsense of that story. You imagined a momentary loss of freedom; a connection you always had to your ONE true Self.

First you imagined; then, lost in your story you began to imagine there was a path. You created a path and a process, a story of how you would return to some garden of perfection; a perfection that was in fact, never lost.

* To find out Who You Are you need not go somewhere or do anything; just be.

In the doctrine of ONE you become aware of the fact you are aware.
Be watchful, be attentive, be quiet.
Be.
To know the Self, you need to be the Self.
You cannot become what you already are.

* There is no other:

You are not a person. Reality is impersonal. You are reality. You are a timeless, dimensionless being, a centre of perception that momentarily gets caught up in imagining you are a person, a thing, a body, an emotion, a thought, a memory, an association, a perception, a feared future, or a perturbed past.

You cannot move away from perfection; the real you is perfect, whole and complete now. You are Universal now. There is no up, there is no down; there is no in or out; there is no here, there is no there; there is no above or below; there is no high or low; there is no "other".

* There is no path:

No doctrine, dogma or law, however holy, ancient, wise or sacred, can ever describe in words the truth of Who You Are, who you were and who you will always be...

I am not here to live an ordinary life.

I am here to discover the ONE Self;
to realize the ONE Spirit that dwells within me.
Then I will live an extraordinary life.
I am here to realize the ONE spirit of human solidarity and interdependence;
to cultivate ONE kinship with all life.
What I've read is not as important as what I've done.
What I've done is not as important as who I've been.
The ONE seed of divinity that lies within me contains the whole truth.

Am I ready to remember?

Am I willing to surrender and allow?

Am I willing to unlearn?

Am I willing to be?

About The Author:

michael sean symonds is a certified instructor of Primordial Sound Meditation with Deepak Chopra/Chopra Center for Wellbeing. He is an author and facilitator in the area of personal growth and Spirituality.

For more information or to view more of michaels work please visit:

http://www.soulananda.com
http://www.zenshredding.com

Abraham Maslow

Building Positive Personality - Keeping Determination and Persistence Alive

Determination and persistence characters are always being linked to the traits of successful people. A lot of quotes of the famous people always mentioned these two characters or traits. For example Thomas Edison said that genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. If you have read my previous articles, you could see that I too talked a lot about these.

Try asking any successful person and I can assure you that they would say that these two characters are essential in order for you to be successful in achieving your dream. Whether it is to be successful in your business, exams and career or even in your life.

Well, I guess that's how it is. Everybody agrees that to be successful you need to have determination and persistence, of course along with other successful traits.

As everybody agrees to these so how exactly you are going to maintain these characters or traits in you to ensure that you will achieve success.

Know where you are going

The first thing to maintain your determination and persistence is to know where you are going whether it is in business, life, career or relationship. You must set your goal, what you want to achieve and know for what purpose.

For example you want to be a millionaire by a certain date. You must then know why you want to be a millionaire for example to be free so that you can be happy, travel wherever you want and help other people.

Why is this important? Because if you already know deep in your heart that you would not be happy when you become a millionaire, you would not be determined and persistent enough to take action until you achieve your goal.

Make plan in achieving you goal

When you already know where you are going, you also need to know the what, when and who would be able to help you achieve what you want. How to achieve it is also important however at the early stage of your planning you could leave this one out. The reason is that most of the time you would not know how to do it therefore if you keep thinking of the how, it would end up discouraging you to achieve your goal.

Making plan is important, as it will guide you to the right path that you need to go. Although you need to specify the what, when, where and who in your planning, these could be just in general at the early stage of planning. As you go along you will get the idea of the specific what, when, where, who and even how.

Positive affirmation

Positive affirmation is also important to maintain your determination and persistence. You must always say to yourself that you are going to achieve your goal and believe it. There is no point to keep repeating a positive affirmation however you do not believe that you can achieve the goal

You will be like a parrot that is being taught to talk words or sentences.

Whether you are a believer or not, praying would be a good way to keep determination and persistence. Other then making your belief comes true; it would also help to calm you down especially in difficult situations or obstacles.

Support from others

Everybody in this world will need somebody whether that somebody is parents, siblings, spouse, friends, colleagues etc. The bottom line is that everybody needs somebody especially during difficult times.

In your path of pursuing your goals, having somebody to support you, believe in you and cheer you on especially when you encounter with obstacles is essential in keeping your determination and persistence.

Helping others

Have you ever heard a saying that says the best way to cheer yourself up is to try cheer somebody else up? If you never heard of this then now you have. The saying is really true as when you help others you are really helping yourself and this will keep your determination and persistence alive.

A simple example is that you want to be a good teacher and someday being promoted in your teaching career. To become a good teacher you spend times with your students, listen to their problems and motivate them whenever possible.

It's true that on the surface you are actually building your career. However as you look much deeper you are really helping your students to become better and successful people where possibly one day help other people in return.

If you look from this point of view, how much determination and persistence you think you want to have.

Please always remember that determination and persistence are two main characters to achieve success whether it is in your business, life or even in a relationship. Whether you want to practise the five suggestions I mentioned above or other ways to keep you determination and persistence alive are up to you.

The main point is to keep these two characters with you along the way and you will definitely achieve success in the end.

Copyright (c) 2009 Khadijah Ibrahim

Khadijah is a certified handwriting analyst, internet marketer, author, trainer and NLP practitioner. Listen to her talks about building online business and positive personality in her blog and see her website that shows you how your handwriting could reveal a lot about your personality

Andrew Weil

Four Secrets to Relieving Back Pain by Releasing Hidden Painful Emotions

If you live with back pain, you are not alone. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH) "nearly everyone at some point has back pain that interferes with work, routine daily activities, or recreation".
Over twenty five years ago I strained my back while moving a piano up a staircase in student housing at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City where I was attending law school.
The pain persisted and finally, many years later, I sought the help of my first chiropractor Clyde Keller in Sandy, Utah.
Dr. Keller's adjustments gave me a lot of relief.
Still the pain returned periodically and so I returned to see Dr. Keller.

STRESS AND LOW BACK PAIN
As time passed I began to see that pain in my back and neck coincided with times of high stress in my career as a personal injury attorney. When I realized that stress was a factor and worked to reduce my stress levels my visits to the chiropractor become less frequent.
This was my first introduction to the relationship between feelings and physical malaise and pain.

SEDONA METHOD
About three years ago I was introduced to the Sedona Method which is a tool that teaches you how to release negative emotions, including those associated with physical pain. I began exploring and releasing years of accumulated negative emotion. In law school we were taught to work with our intellects and so, years after law school, I found myself virtually numb with repressed emotions.
The feelings came off in layers. I peeled them off one by one like the layers of an onion. Little by little I felt more alive.
"Most chronic back pain has a strong emotional component," says Hale Dwoskin author of the Sedona Method and Director of Training at Sedona Training Associates in Sedona, Arizona.
"When you release the stress and tension that is either causing your back pain or simply magnifying it, even long-standing pain in your back can easily dissolve," Dwoskin says. "Either way you will feel a lot better emotionally, which usually translates to profound physical relief as well."

YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE
Later I read Louise Hay's "You Can Heal Your Life." This book offers a list of maladies with their probable causes and a recommended new thought pattern
For "lower back problems" it offers as the probable cause: "Fear of money. Lack of financial support." The recommended new thought pattern is "I trust the process of life. All I need is always taken care of. I am safe."
Repeating the new thought pattern provided relief not just for pain in my lower back but also for any feeling of discomfort or tension in that area.
Another principle I learned from Hay's book is that we don't let go of a problem until we let go of the need for that problem. And that applies to illness. So, I began to use an additional new thought pattern or affirmation in relation to my low back pain: "I am willing to release the need for low back pain."
Try out this simple process in area of your life. You will find that releasing the need for the problem will go a long way toward resolving it.

EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUE
Recently I was introduced to the emotional freedom technique (EFT). This method uses tapping on specific areas of the body to release negative emotional energy.
Though it sounded bizarre I tried it and found it to be very powerful. It even released energy or charge that did not release with the other methods.
You can download a free guide to EFT at http://www.emofree.com. There you can also find a list of practitioners.
The best overall guide to the subject of EFT is "Getting Through to Your Emotions" by Phillip and Jane Mountrose.

CONCLUSION
Try these methods. Hopefully, releasing negative feelings will lead your to better health and a pain free back.

Rex Bush is founder of Bush Law Firm near Salt Lake City, Utah where he handles personal injury cases in Utah and throughout the United States and Canada. For more information on personal injury issues visit his website: Utah Injury Attorney.

Richard Bach

25 Free Affirmations About Getting Money (And None of Them Mention the Word Money)

The first thing you need to understand about your money issues are that they are most likely not about money. Money issues are usually about root issues in your life - like feelings of security and belonging. When you do not address the underlying issue about money you are wasting your time saying any affirmations about gaining wealth. So stop saying "I am rich" 500 times a day and start addressing what is really going on at the root level.

Following are some easy, non threatening affirmations that will gently address root issues of lack of money in your life. When the root issues are gone your money issues will quickly disappear. How do I know? It worked for me and I have seen it work for countless family members, friends and clients. One family member went from living in decades of poverty to earning a university degree and fully supporting herself and family for the first time in over 20 years.

Why not commit to repeating these free affirmations everyday for 10 minutes a day. What have you got to lose?

1. I am enough, always have been...always will be.
2. I came to this earth equipped to thrive and flourish.
3. I will always have enough of everything.
4. I open myself up to living life without fear.
5. I am open to addressing my worries and fears about having enough.
6. I am open to living in peace and harmony with myself.
7. I accept my life.
8. I accept myself.
9. I am open to loving myself.
10. Everything is ok with my life just as it is.
11. I accept where I am and am open to changing it for the better.
12. Wherever I go in life I will be safe and free.
13. I have a right to be here and prosper.
14. Abundance is all around me, including in me.
15. I am open to abundance flowing out of me.
16. I am open to prosperity flowing out of me.
17. I am open to new ways to view wealth and prosperity.
18. My friends are order, peace, safety and love and I open myself up to lots of this.
19. I chose to come here and thrive and flourish.
20. I am open to trading service and value for wealth.
21. I am open to new ways of thinking about my purpose on this planet.
22. I am open to letting my true self out.
23. I am open to using the energy I have within me to live in abundance.
24. I am open to choosing my thoughts wisely and focusing on positive goals.
25. I leave the past behind and commit to focusing on my glorious future.

Take my word for it...

Affirming "I am rich" over and over will do nothing for you until you gain a more healthy vision of yourself and your purpose here on this planet. It is really if worth your effort to take these free affirmations and give them a try.

Copyright (c) Joan Pasay 2009. All rights reserved. You may forward this article in its entirety (including author bio/links) to anyone you wish.

Joan Pasay is just one of the MoneyAffirmationsMP3.com Team, whose lives have been radically changed by the continued use of positive affirmations for money and in every area of life.

Want to enjoy more money? First change your money thoughts. Go to http://moneyaffirmationsmp3.com/ today.

Want to read Joan's affirmations blog? Go to http://affirmationsreallywork.com/blog right now.

Mark Vicente

Parents - The Five Powerful Steps to Creating REAL Change in Your Family

Chances are, if you're reading this, there is something about your family situation you'd like to change. In fact, you may have some serious concerns with your family life. Maybe there is too much fighting amongst your kids or you and your partner, or maybe you're feeling like you've been too hard on your kids. Or maybe you are just plain tired of hearing yourself yell all of the time. I am willing to bet that given time with a close friend or family member, a good majority of the time you spend time talking with them will be about what's not working in your family.

So, how do you go about creating the change you'd like to see in your family? You start by looking in the mirror. Why a mirror? What does your reflection have to do with getting your kids to stop fighting, for example? Any change you desire starts with YOU. I'll say that again; Any change you desire starts with YOU.

If your concern is that your children fight too much, and you try to control the situation by punishing the one who "started it", bribing them to stop, or any other measure that tries to impact the circumstances, you're barking up the wrong tree, so to speak.

A way to look at this is to think about your family situation as if it is a movie playing out on a large screen. If you want that movie to change, going up to the screen and trying to manipulate it will not impact a change. To create a change on the screen, you've got to go to the little room at the back of the theatre and change the movie that's playing in the projector. If you think about yourself as the projector and the movie as the result of your perception, thoughts, and beliefs, then you'll need to change your perception, thoughts, and beliefs about the situation before you'll see real change out there on the screen.

So, what can you do to change your inner movie so that it reflects what you want to see on the screen of your life? Here are five tips to get you started:

1) Become aware of your thoughts -
What do you spend your time thinking about? Do you spend more time focusing on what is going wrong or on what is going right? Focusing on what is not working perpetuates that which is not working. Raising your awareness of where your thoughts are is the first step in changing them.

2) Stop thinking about what is wrong and start thinking about what is right -
Once you are aware of what you are spending your time thinking about, you'll want to catch yourself when you are thinking about what is not working. Change your focus from what is not working and consciously start looking for the things that are working. Once you find them, focus on them. By catching yourself and changing your thoughts to the positive, you've taken the next step toward bringing about positive change.

3) Watch your speech -
Do you spend time complaining to friends or family members about your concerns? Your speech is a very powerful influencer of your subconscious. And your subconscious can't take a joke. Even making jokes about your kids' fighting can perpetuate that situation. Don't be roped into a negative conversation about the situation you want to change.

4)Affirm what you wish to create -
Create an affirmation directed at bringing about your desired change. For example, if you wish to see less fighting amongst your children, an affirmation such as this can help: "My children now work together beautifully and treat each other with love and respect."

5) Spend time visualizing your desired situation -
Create a mental picture in your mind of the situation occurring in the way in which you desire it. For example, if you wish to create smooth relations between your children, you can visualize them spending time together in a harmonious, peaceful way.

Any time you wish a situation in your family to be different than it is, start with your own thoughts. By following these 5 steps, you'll quickly get on the path to creating the family life of your dreams.

To learn about I Shine's character building and spiritual development programs, and to download my free report, "The 7 Mistakes Good Parents Make", please visit http://ishinekids.com

Hoping To Enter Heaven

The Age of Affirmation

Evolution is part of our experience in the physical world. At first humanity had no rules and over time developed a few for survival. Religion came along and gave us a lifestyle at the expense of our eternal soul, freewill and self empowerment. Although 84% of the world is now religious that will also change as self awareness of what spirit actually is begins to replace images of pagan Gods, Heaven and Hell and damnation and dependency on external powers.

As with all endings, come new beginnings. New Age thought is a transition from Religion to Self Awareness which will blend into a period of Affirmation of true identity and power as we move to enlightenment. These transitions are not to be feared but welcomed and celebrated. Humanity has moved very slowly for centuries and that is changing rapidly. Just over 100 years ago we were still on horseback and using fire to light our homes. Now we have been into space and our technology is driving us to move quicker and think faster. But even technology is slow compared to what the human mind is capable of. As a species we have scarcely tapped into our full potential as creators.

With few of us even knowing all the parts of our bodies we are so far removed from our personal power as creators. Man has the capacity to circumvent all technology and move past it spiritually. However that is in the very far future. Man chose to become human and come to this physical world so that he could experience being part of the technology and know the steps of creation personally.

Like religion, New Age brings an awareness of something that is to come along the road of enlightenment. It is not an end unto itself. Humanity needs to get past the idea that it can stay in any one place and survive; it can not! Life is movement, and it is always changing; it does not stand still. We are in a period where we can witness religion loosing ground to New Thought. Although people still associate themselves with religion for the most part; the thought is not pure. There are doubts as to its validity and its relevance not only to the 21st century, but to who we are, our purpose and where we go from here.

Religion never gave us what it promised, and neither will New Age or any other period because they are simply steps in our evolution and not destinations. The Age of Affirmation which is the next period will only serve to remind us that we are creators of all that we experience. It is the message of New Age, but we will begin to practice and develop it and our others powers/senses in earnest. The next step is to know ourselves as God, as the creator not only of our experiences but of our physical lives.

This planet is a small place and only a step on our eternal journey through our galaxy and others. The physical senses which we now use and are familiar with will not be enough to take us to others worlds. What we are using now is basically a baby bottle; good enough to nurture us through our first steps; but not enough to carry us to adulthood, independence, and maturity. It is our other senses and powers which need to be developed before we can move any further. At this point we only have a glimpse or sense of what we are capable of. All our psychic abilities are available now. There needs to be the will to develop them, and with that we must be able to let go of what may have worked in the past. We must empty our cups in order to fill them once again.

We will never lose or let go of our physical senses; they are the reason for choosing to experience physical life. They are addicting and desirable, and cannot be experienced in the absolute. We are after all, spirit experiencing the physical life, not physical life experiencing being spirit.

The kind of spirituality that many of us experience as a chosen lifestyle is not the realm of spirit or even spirituality. It is our perception of what spirit is, experienced physically. You cannot experience being spirit in spiritual form unless you are in the realm of spirit. And visa versa; it is why the spirit has chosen to experience being physical. It has the image, the concept, a thought, but not the experience. An idea is not complete until it has been experienced.

Many people who have acquired the abundance they desired and have reached the top of the mountain only find the other side of the mountain. To move further along you cannot take your abundance with you. Once again you must empty your cup to make room for new tea. You cannot be attached or anchored to old beliefs, concepts or ideas. You cannot solve a problem using the same thought process that created it. (Albert Einstein). Letting go is one of the most difficult things a physical being can do. After all things are what we came here to experience. New awareness creates new experiences, but you have to let go and let it happen.

After thousands of years of Religion; it will be a slow death because, as humans, we don't want to let go of our beliefs no matter how well they have or have not served us. The good news is that all the dinosaurs died at the same time in good company. The mammals replaced them.

New Age will not replace religion, but offer a stepping stone to the Age of Affirmation; a realization of spirit in the body as the same thing in different forms. Because God is a human concept of what spirit is, the name will disappear and be replaced as representative of what spirit actually is. Although it is just a word/name, the very word spoken brings up images and experiences created in an early stage of development. Not relevant and irrelevant at the same time; in our memories, but no longer in our experience as mature beings. Like dinosaurs to a child who has grown up. They had their place in time and space, but have been tamed.

The Age of Affirmation brings with it infinite probabilities but no promises. There will be many who continue to experience physical life on earth, while others choose to experience it somewhere else. There will be some who still want to build a car or house from scratch, while others will simply be able to will them into experience. There will be some who wish to experience dinosaurs and religion; they will be able to do that as a trip to the holodeck or museum. Others will move faster at creating new concepts, new beliefs, and realities. As humanity gains momentum in its evolution we will be able to move beyond the boundaries it has created. We will be able to move further into space at speeds unimagined. Because our thoughts are elevated, our existence will no longer be about struggle or just surviving. Because we will know ourselves not only as creators but creators with unlimited power to create (as God), what we are experiencing now will be remembered as our first cry, and New Age will be the transformation and recovery from child birth.

Roy is a resident of British Columbia, Canada. An international published spiritual author, a student of NLP, spiritual philosopher, New Age Teacher and Phenomenologist. Think outside the box - discover who you really are

Find out why the "Law of Attraction" won't work for you, and how you can turn it around. Download this Free ebook by Roy E. Klienwachter at http://www.klienwachter.com For information on his new book, got to: http://www.leddownthegardenpath.com

Edith Hamilton

Your Self Image Will Either Make You Or Break You

Many people who want to achieve success have a difficult time achieving the success they would like to possess. The only reason people have a difficult time reaching their success is because of their self image. You can only achieve as much as your self image will let you achieve. The good part is that you can begin to change your self image by working on believing that you can achieve whatever it is you desire. Many people begin by using positive affirmations; while this does help you and should be used on a regular basis however they will not help your self image.

The way to help your self image is to begin to see yourself as successful and by repeating to yourself everyday your goals. As you continue to do this on a regular basis your subconscious will go to work to make you visions and auto suggestions a reality. One of the things I have been working on and I continue to work on everyday is my "faith." If you learn how to develop your faith on a daily basis; it will assist your self image to improve and you will begin to see things begin to manifest in your life. One of the things I have done to increase my faith is that every morning I repeat these affirmations:
"I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)

Utilizing this affirmation on a daily basis plus visualizing my goals everyday I have noticed a huge improvement in my life. I have since then reached several short term goals and have noticed that my attitude towards life has improved. If you use this affirmation on a daily basis your self image will improve and you will absolutely know that anything you desire will manifest.

You may think you will feel uncomfortable saying this affirmation at least 10 times a day; however as you continue saying it you will begin to understand how powerful those little words are. We all must learn how to increase our self image if you truly wish to experience success. It is the only thing holding you back from achieving the success you desire. If you can learn how to change it and begin to believe that you can be do have anything you desire you will understand that a lot of the things you were told growing up were not true. Our self images were developed when we were young by our parents, society, friends and people who have influenced our lives in one way or another. You have probably taken everything that they taught you and believed it because they were people that "you trusted and admired." However unknowingly these people have instilled some limiting beliefs upon you. Now your job is to improve your self image and release some of the limiting beliefs that are holding you back from achieving the success you desire.

Remember your self image will either make you or break you and if you do not continually work on improving it; you will never become the successful entrepreneur, air lines pilot, writer, actress or whatever you are striving to achieve.

Get all your free tips on the importance to personal development and receive free techniques to utilize as meditation, visualization and lots of other wealth generating techniques at http://www.personal-development-life.com/self-image.html - Plus sign up for the free Powerful Living Newsletter.

Spoiled Children