Wednesday, December 28, 2011

LIFE-MASTERY IN A NUTSHELL

Life-mastery can be achieved following one simple rule -- bring a fully present and loving self to every situation and task ... no matter how difficult or onerous.

This applies to all aspects of daily life -- relating with people; doing your job; maintaining your health, finances and household, as well as when engaging in creative activities.

As simple as this approach seems, it can be very challenging; we may need to change many of our beliefs, ways of thinking and habitual responses and completely recondition ourselves. But whatever is required, the benefits are enormous and well worth it.

If we approach every situation with our most attentive loving self, we can experience life at its best. And, as we increase our capacity to be loving and to be fully present, we can experience ever higher levels of satisfaction and success ... including what some consider divine experiences.

A great sense of wonder, reverence and creative excitement may be experienced anywhere. This means that even a mundane task may not only become pleasant or enjoyable, it can become a very high experience whereby we actually rejoice in it. It also means that all our relationships and activities can provide new opportunities for deep connection and fulfillment ... more than we may now imagine.

This level of living is what I call living in your divine zone. And it’s for anyone who chooses it by focusing on being extra loving and present throughout each day. This is the key commitment that transforms life. But don't take my word for it. Experiment with being more fully focused and loving for a few minutes each day and see what happens.

Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.

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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

INCREASING SUCCESS

Have you ever thought about what makes some people more successful than others? A lot depends on their ability to explore new possibilities.

Highly successful people tend to be more courageous, positive, flexible and outgoing and thereby live in a larger field of possibilities; those who are shy, negative, rigid or fearful are forced to live within the narrow confines that these qualities impose.

Highly successful people continually reexamine their beliefs and reality-test them. So they keep changing how they think, feel and act; thus they keep exploring new possibilities and improve their ability to succeed.

Put simply, highly successful people are more adaptive and keep challenging themselves to exceed their present limits!

Each time we adapt and break through a personal barrier, we expand ourselves and increase our ability to shape better life results. But before one can do this, it’s necessary to acknowledge that it’s often our own personal limitations and resistance to change that are holding us back.

Most of us understand the obvious need to remain physically healthy and strong. Many of us also recognize the importance of education. But perhaps less recognized is the importance of being willing to becoming more experimental and change set ways. But this is often how great breakthroughs and success come about.

Breaking through personal barriers is the route to a highly successful life. To the extent that we don’t expand ourselves, we limit our life’s possibilities. So eagerly face your personal limitations -- don’t ignore or defend them. This is often the first step to becoming a highly successful person.

Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

RECEIVING HIGHER INNER GUIDANCE

Meditative focusing is the means for shifting to a greater Self. At this level we’re not only connected to our full creative potentials (the source of all of our greater possibilities), we’re also supremely guided.

Many years ago, being meditatively focused, I felt a sudden urge to take an aimless stroll. I wandered to a bench at 79th Street and Broadway. Unexpectedly a thought came to me: "Time to buy a co-op ... 92nd Street." Immediately I was inspired to go to a real-estate office and see what was available. What was offered didn’t seem right. A week later at my country house, I got an intuitive flash to cut the weekend short, return home and check with doormen along Broadway. My wife and I did just that. When we got to a building on 92nd Street, we learned of two apartments. One was not right, the other was spoken for, but something inside urged me to ask to see it anyway. And the moment the door swung open, a ‘voice’ within me joyfully shouted "YES! THIS IS IT". I asked the agent to check with the owner (even though it was thought to have been taken). We found that the agent who had been handling the apartment had dropped out of sight, leaving the sale unconfirmed. The owner immediately offered the apartment to us and at just the limit we could afford. She could have easily asked for (and gotten) more and priced me out, but she didn’t. We bought, moved in, and have never been happier.

Was this just random good fortune or a ‘hidden hand’ at work here? I can’t say. But I do know from experience that when I meditatively focus, a special guidance often occurs. By ‘listening’ to the subtle ‘voice’ of my ‘Greater-Self’, I’m guided to my best future. This process has helped me in many important ways throughout the years, including starting a Personal Growth Center, investing, and finding my dear wife.

However we choose to explain it, there’s a deeper level of Self we can tune in to that more wisely can guide us. And it happens when we become perfectly still and meditatively focus within.

Goodness and Joy to all, Joseph.

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Thursday, December 1, 2011

YOUR GREATER SELF LIES AHEAD

Have you discovered your greater self yet?

If you haven’t, you may find it hard to imagine and believe that a greater self exists within you. But it does.

You’ll begin to know this greater self when you suddenly experience beauty, not just in the obvious places (such as in a field of flowers or a rolling hillside), but all around you in the common sights of daily life. You’ll see it in the plodding bent-over frame of an old man crossing the street, as well as in the bright bubbling cherubic smile of an infant grabbing at his wiggling toes.

When you arrive at this greater self, you’ll not only see beauty more often and in the most unexpected places, you’ll also be more open to the creative possibilities of life -- what once may have seemed as a setback will suddenly seem like an opportunity to move ahead. You’ll also find greatness and fulfillment in the simple experience of just being alive -- a walk in the sun will be a grand event; a chance meeting with a neighbor ... an unexpected pleasure; the sights and sounds of your environment ... a sensory texture to savor.

And what may be most impressive of all is the new way in which you’ll suddenly carry yourself and meet the challenges of life. Disappointments and discomforts will be taken gracefully, discontent will be seen as an unnecessary response. And perhaps most wonderful of all, you’ll continually bathe in the warm glow of success because it will no longer be something you’ll need to strive for, but always present -- something that automatically comes with each thing that you lovingly do.

Yes, believe it or not, your life can be greater than you may now imagine. And this wonder can happen at any moment. All you have to do is recognize all the goodness that actually lies right within you and begin allowing it to emerge.

Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.

SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO FRIENDS.