This evening I was sitting by the window facing west, having a drink and watching the sunset. I am feeling quite happy with the progress of events right now. No, no sure things, but delicious opportunities.
I have opportunities again to do more of the work I love most. I am relaxing, knowing that tomorrow will be a long drive to the next gig. That's fine. I am ready.
For now, things are moving forward. New friends. New work. More dancing. More music.
It is always a good thing to toast the setting sun, and feel gratitude for what is going well.
For now, I offer you this one simple thought. Nothing more complicated.
Just toast the setting sun and feel gratitude.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Manifesting Magnificently
One of the important things to remember about manifesting is that it is the goal that is important. We need to state what we want in clear terms and be open to creative solutions.
At the same time, we want to state our desire in such a way that we rule out ways of manifesting that may be detrimental to us.
Focus on your goal, take action steps to get there, and let the strength of your desire shine through.
When magic is happening, manifesting can take mysterious shapes.
It is not tricky. You just have to be clear.
Your action steps, willfully expressed, help define, as does the desire. As a result, we may find that at times we need to redefine our vision.
When those three sides of the triangle are firmly in place, they are powerful. If you are not getting what you want, check those three sides to see how strong they are and if one or more of them needs to be rebuilt or reinforced.
At the same time, we want to state our desire in such a way that we rule out ways of manifesting that may be detrimental to us.
Focus on your goal, take action steps to get there, and let the strength of your desire shine through.
When magic is happening, manifesting can take mysterious shapes.
It is not tricky. You just have to be clear.
Your action steps, willfully expressed, help define, as does the desire. As a result, we may find that at times we need to redefine our vision.
When those three sides of the triangle are firmly in place, they are powerful. If you are not getting what you want, check those three sides to see how strong they are and if one or more of them needs to be rebuilt or reinforced.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Different Kinds of Oneness
In metaphysical circles, you often hear it espoused that a goal of enlightened people is to bring about unity and oneness among people.
In the best of ways, what we see that demonstrated when a catastrophe strikes and people spontaneously contribute to help those who are suffering. That kind of oneness displays compassion and a sense of empathy with other people.
In the worst of ways, we see a different kind of oneness expressed when corporate execs dump thousands of employees while rewarding themselves with multimillion dollar bonuses. There is something wrong with this picture. What is it? It is that in one situation, the oneness is expanding and in the other oneness is contracting.
But what if those execs who profited hugely from these changes in the corporate structures were to contribute to making the world a better place by creating new businesses in the US? What could be a better use of millions and billions of newly acquired wealth than helping to create new businesses? Rather than expect those people to start all the new businesses themselves, fund organizations to provide seed money for entrepreneurs.
We have seen banks in countries like India and other countries provide micro loans for people starting new businesses. How much is that practiced in the US? Maybe in a less developed country, a few hundred dollars can launch a new business, but here it might take a few thousand.
Years ago in this country, people got together to form labor unions to create better working conditions for people who worked in factories. That was another expression of oneness, and it lifted our standard of living.
Now it is a different time, and perhaps what is needed now is for more people to be encouraged to create a job rather than focusing on finding a job.
So if we are to encourage this kind of thinking, what well known, wealthy exec will step forward to set such an initiative in motion?
After all, doesn't the difference between having a good idea and starting a new business often come down to funding?
And aren't the people most likely to start a new business the motivated individuals who are trying to create a better life for themselves and others?
Isn't it time to emphasize a new kind of oneness?
In the best of ways, what we see that demonstrated when a catastrophe strikes and people spontaneously contribute to help those who are suffering. That kind of oneness displays compassion and a sense of empathy with other people.
In the worst of ways, we see a different kind of oneness expressed when corporate execs dump thousands of employees while rewarding themselves with multimillion dollar bonuses. There is something wrong with this picture. What is it? It is that in one situation, the oneness is expanding and in the other oneness is contracting.
But what if those execs who profited hugely from these changes in the corporate structures were to contribute to making the world a better place by creating new businesses in the US? What could be a better use of millions and billions of newly acquired wealth than helping to create new businesses? Rather than expect those people to start all the new businesses themselves, fund organizations to provide seed money for entrepreneurs.
We have seen banks in countries like India and other countries provide micro loans for people starting new businesses. How much is that practiced in the US? Maybe in a less developed country, a few hundred dollars can launch a new business, but here it might take a few thousand.
Years ago in this country, people got together to form labor unions to create better working conditions for people who worked in factories. That was another expression of oneness, and it lifted our standard of living.
Now it is a different time, and perhaps what is needed now is for more people to be encouraged to create a job rather than focusing on finding a job.
So if we are to encourage this kind of thinking, what well known, wealthy exec will step forward to set such an initiative in motion?
After all, doesn't the difference between having a good idea and starting a new business often come down to funding?
And aren't the people most likely to start a new business the motivated individuals who are trying to create a better life for themselves and others?
Isn't it time to emphasize a new kind of oneness?
Sunday, March 27, 2011
What We Are Capable Of Doing
Many of us are feeling called by the situations of our lives to rise to a new level of awareness, to a level of being more, doing more. Why now?
We are now at a new level of evolution and it is time to look at not just what we have done, but what we can do.
Just like job hunting on the web has changed the way people look for work, with robots scanning resumes to decide who might get the job, we cannot do things the way we used to. Used to be that you had an opportunity during an interview to make the case for why you should get the job. The resume stated your history and experience.
Today, robots scan for keywords, and if they are not on your resume, you will not be interviewed. Yes, I share the opinion that this is an inferior way to find the best person for the job. But there is another choice. We can choose to create a better way of doing things, by not participating in that system and charting our own path.
That may be the whole message of the changes in a nutshell. The universe may be encouraging us to do things in a way that makes sense for us. That requires extra energy, but the rewards are greater, not just in terms of money, but in terms of how we spend our time and energy.
By choosing to go to the next level, we do take risks, and we challenge ourselves to do things we have not done. We may find ourselves calling on reserves of strength and resources we did not know we had, but this is part of our initiation into another world.
Every time we ask to go to the next level we are expressing our will and desire to engage with the universe in a new and different way. It is another way of breaking new ground and presenting ourselves so that the world can see what we are capable of, not just what we have done.
It is new every day when we re-create ourselves. It is always about what we can do now, not just what we have done in the past.
We are now at a new level of evolution and it is time to look at not just what we have done, but what we can do.
Just like job hunting on the web has changed the way people look for work, with robots scanning resumes to decide who might get the job, we cannot do things the way we used to. Used to be that you had an opportunity during an interview to make the case for why you should get the job. The resume stated your history and experience.
Today, robots scan for keywords, and if they are not on your resume, you will not be interviewed. Yes, I share the opinion that this is an inferior way to find the best person for the job. But there is another choice. We can choose to create a better way of doing things, by not participating in that system and charting our own path.
That may be the whole message of the changes in a nutshell. The universe may be encouraging us to do things in a way that makes sense for us. That requires extra energy, but the rewards are greater, not just in terms of money, but in terms of how we spend our time and energy.
By choosing to go to the next level, we do take risks, and we challenge ourselves to do things we have not done. We may find ourselves calling on reserves of strength and resources we did not know we had, but this is part of our initiation into another world.
Every time we ask to go to the next level we are expressing our will and desire to engage with the universe in a new and different way. It is another way of breaking new ground and presenting ourselves so that the world can see what we are capable of, not just what we have done.
It is new every day when we re-create ourselves. It is always about what we can do now, not just what we have done in the past.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Validation
In some of the old ways of doing things, it was harder to get validation for what we were creating. You had to find an agent to represent you and then they would try and find a publisher or gallery or music label that might be interested in making your creations more visible to audiences, customers, readers.
Today, we can write what we want and post it and then try and draw people's attention to it. We can post photos of our art and videos of our music.
Then it is just a matter of getting other people to take a look at it. With all the billons of websites out there, finding things can be real hit or miss.
But at least it is possible to get validation of our work sooner rather than later. That vote of confidence might be all it takes for someone to be encouraged to continue on with their work.
Of course, that is not to say that a person would not like to see their books published and sold, their art sold or reproduced or their music being bought and listened to by appreciative audiences. Who wouldn't like greater success?
At least the chaos of the Internet is a place to start. We no longer have to wait for a middleman for at least some people to consider our creations. For that, I am grateful. Aren't you?
Today, we can write what we want and post it and then try and draw people's attention to it. We can post photos of our art and videos of our music.
Then it is just a matter of getting other people to take a look at it. With all the billons of websites out there, finding things can be real hit or miss.
But at least it is possible to get validation of our work sooner rather than later. That vote of confidence might be all it takes for someone to be encouraged to continue on with their work.
Of course, that is not to say that a person would not like to see their books published and sold, their art sold or reproduced or their music being bought and listened to by appreciative audiences. Who wouldn't like greater success?
At least the chaos of the Internet is a place to start. We no longer have to wait for a middleman for at least some people to consider our creations. For that, I am grateful. Aren't you?
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Out of Context
The story of Augustin Hadelich, who I wrote about yesterday, touches on the story of another great young violinist, Joshua Bell. Some experts see the two as comparable talents.
In 2007, Joshua Bell was put on a baseball cap and ordinary clothes and stood playing Bach on a Stradivarius in a Washington subway station. The thousand or so people who passed by while he was playing obviously thought he was just a street musician playing for tips.
He was in Washington to play at the Library of Congress and he regularly sells out symphony halls, commanding $100 a ticket. Yet, that morning in the subway, no one recognized him.
The Washington Post put him up to the idea to see what would happen.
How often do we fail to recognize talent when it is out of context?
Is a musician only good if they are booked into a concert hall? Is an artists only good if a gallery or museum features their work? Is a writer only good if a major publishing house publishes their books? Can we recognize true beauty when it pops up in unexpected places? Do we have trouble recognizing true beauty and true talent when it pops up in unexpected people?
In 2007, Joshua Bell was put on a baseball cap and ordinary clothes and stood playing Bach on a Stradivarius in a Washington subway station. The thousand or so people who passed by while he was playing obviously thought he was just a street musician playing for tips.
He was in Washington to play at the Library of Congress and he regularly sells out symphony halls, commanding $100 a ticket. Yet, that morning in the subway, no one recognized him.
The Washington Post put him up to the idea to see what would happen.
How often do we fail to recognize talent when it is out of context?
Is a musician only good if they are booked into a concert hall? Is an artists only good if a gallery or museum features their work? Is a writer only good if a major publishing house publishes their books? Can we recognize true beauty when it pops up in unexpected places? Do we have trouble recognizing true beauty and true talent when it pops up in unexpected people?
Monday, March 21, 2011
Fire Outside, Fire Inside
This past weekend, I went to the Colorado Symphony, and the featured soloist was a young violinist named Augustin Hadelich. Prior to this, I was not familiar with his work. He was stunning. Just my impression? Consider this. Someone else thinks so much of his playing that they let him use their Stradivarius.
The audience was so appreciative of his performance that he also did something quite uncommon. He returned to the stage and performed an encore, solo.
But there is more to this story than just the fact that a superb musician can create phenomenal sounds using a rare and valuable instrument.
When he came on stage, my first impression was that his makeup was very strange. As he cradled the violin, I could see scar tissue on his neck. Suddenly it came to me that he must have been burned in a fire.
So I looked him up on the web when I got home. He has been playing since he was 5. His family is German, and he lived on a farm in Tuscany with his parents. When he was 15, some diesel fuel caught fire and burned his face, his body and his bow arm. Doctors thought that he might never be able to play again. He had 20 operations and spent 2 years healing. Now, he performs with great orchestras all over the world. Perhaps there is a touch of irony to his selection of works by Beethoven and Paganini that evening, reflecting the roots of the German family living in Italy. I choose to think that there are no coincidences in this story.
And all this has happened just in his first 27 years.
It is stunning, isn't it? What humans can do, even in the face of great adversity exceeds stories that the imagination could conjure up.
How strong must a person's will be to come back and make world class music after surviving such intense damage and pain?
Of course, the doctors must have performed their roles exceptionally as well. Yet, even though they restored his body, his spirit had to be restored in order to be able to perform at this level. Was it the power of music that helped him recover? Or was it something else? Maybe this will remain a mystery.
Or perhaps the fire inside was even more powerful than the fire outside.
The audience was so appreciative of his performance that he also did something quite uncommon. He returned to the stage and performed an encore, solo.
But there is more to this story than just the fact that a superb musician can create phenomenal sounds using a rare and valuable instrument.
When he came on stage, my first impression was that his makeup was very strange. As he cradled the violin, I could see scar tissue on his neck. Suddenly it came to me that he must have been burned in a fire.
So I looked him up on the web when I got home. He has been playing since he was 5. His family is German, and he lived on a farm in Tuscany with his parents. When he was 15, some diesel fuel caught fire and burned his face, his body and his bow arm. Doctors thought that he might never be able to play again. He had 20 operations and spent 2 years healing. Now, he performs with great orchestras all over the world. Perhaps there is a touch of irony to his selection of works by Beethoven and Paganini that evening, reflecting the roots of the German family living in Italy. I choose to think that there are no coincidences in this story.
And all this has happened just in his first 27 years.
It is stunning, isn't it? What humans can do, even in the face of great adversity exceeds stories that the imagination could conjure up.
How strong must a person's will be to come back and make world class music after surviving such intense damage and pain?
Of course, the doctors must have performed their roles exceptionally as well. Yet, even though they restored his body, his spirit had to be restored in order to be able to perform at this level. Was it the power of music that helped him recover? Or was it something else? Maybe this will remain a mystery.
Or perhaps the fire inside was even more powerful than the fire outside.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Committed to Memory
Once, when I was studying music, all these things were known to me. There were names for a special place in time where the placement of a fingertip made the sound of a note, a space in time between other sounds, and just the right sound made the note I wanted.
It was precise work to get exactly the note I wanted. Then memory took over after many repeated efforts, the notes flowed together until they made a melody.
It is like that to learn a bit, to learn a note, then a sequence of notes, then more patterns and more notes until it all sounds like songs. The notes flow like they are melodies.
And some melodies become short little songs and others become symphonies.
Either way, it still begins with finding one right note, then venturing further out until it forms something larger.
One note, exactly the right touch at the right time, and a song begins. So sweetly they begin, and then it is committed to memory, so that the whole of the tune can be recalled at once. All beginning with a single note.
It was precise work to get exactly the note I wanted. Then memory took over after many repeated efforts, the notes flowed together until they made a melody.
It is like that to learn a bit, to learn a note, then a sequence of notes, then more patterns and more notes until it all sounds like songs. The notes flow like they are melodies.
And some melodies become short little songs and others become symphonies.
Either way, it still begins with finding one right note, then venturing further out until it forms something larger.
One note, exactly the right touch at the right time, and a song begins. So sweetly they begin, and then it is committed to memory, so that the whole of the tune can be recalled at once. All beginning with a single note.
Friday, March 18, 2011
How Else Can Tarot Heal?
In the same way that looking at beautiful art calms and soothes while at the same time getting the mind working, tarot can be used as a pocket sized gallery.
How is that healing? Just take it out and look at it for a little while every day. Maybe pull one card a day, or a few. Whatever you feel like. Looking at a picture intensely, meditating on the image and what it might mean, and next thing you know you have an uplifted spirit, or at least an inquiring mind. Either way, you are now entered into a heightened state of awareness.
How can it be healing to meditate on profound thoughts? How can it be healing to gaze on pictures of beauty and clever composition? Can shuffling through a deck and looking at the cards help put the world back in order? Does that calm the nerves and help lower the blood pressure?
When you have a busy schedule and you are feeling like you need to catch up, taking a deck out and looking at it can be like taking a mini-vacation to a great art museum or gallery. Nothing like fantastic art to help create a higher awareness of our present state, is there?
How is that healing? Just take it out and look at it for a little while every day. Maybe pull one card a day, or a few. Whatever you feel like. Looking at a picture intensely, meditating on the image and what it might mean, and next thing you know you have an uplifted spirit, or at least an inquiring mind. Either way, you are now entered into a heightened state of awareness.
How can it be healing to meditate on profound thoughts? How can it be healing to gaze on pictures of beauty and clever composition? Can shuffling through a deck and looking at the cards help put the world back in order? Does that calm the nerves and help lower the blood pressure?
When you have a busy schedule and you are feeling like you need to catch up, taking a deck out and looking at it can be like taking a mini-vacation to a great art museum or gallery. Nothing like fantastic art to help create a higher awareness of our present state, is there?
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The Healing Energy of Readings
There is an energy in every reading that is unique. It is always a combination of the energy of the reader meeting the energy of the querant. When the energy of the querant is engaged and open, more pathways open up and the reading accelerates, covering the territory more deeply.
Readings can help heal a person. Remember that thoughts can influence feelings and energies, and if a person comes away from a reading with inspiration, hope, or a more robust and vibrant outlook, a healing has begun, and will be continued by the application of free will on the querant's part.
Neutrality gives the reader a bird's eye view of what is going on. Many times I have seen the enlivening effect that comes when a person gets validation in a reading. That can also be healing given that a person gains peace of mind when they know that there is some agreement with their point of view even though everyone else seemed to share a different point of view.
Because of empathic powers, some readers are more adept at transferring healing energy during the course of a reading.
Reading energies can also stimulate a person to look at their situation in novel ways and other perspectives, thus opening them to creative solutions to their predicaments.
Readings can also be unique tools for helping view a situation clearly, because the art is both abstract and has a bearing on what is real.
Healing must sometimes begin with a different perspective before the new energies are allowed to enter and welcomed in.
Healing comes in many ways. A reading is one good way to experience it.
Readings can help heal a person. Remember that thoughts can influence feelings and energies, and if a person comes away from a reading with inspiration, hope, or a more robust and vibrant outlook, a healing has begun, and will be continued by the application of free will on the querant's part.
Neutrality gives the reader a bird's eye view of what is going on. Many times I have seen the enlivening effect that comes when a person gets validation in a reading. That can also be healing given that a person gains peace of mind when they know that there is some agreement with their point of view even though everyone else seemed to share a different point of view.
Because of empathic powers, some readers are more adept at transferring healing energy during the course of a reading.
Reading energies can also stimulate a person to look at their situation in novel ways and other perspectives, thus opening them to creative solutions to their predicaments.
Readings can also be unique tools for helping view a situation clearly, because the art is both abstract and has a bearing on what is real.
Healing must sometimes begin with a different perspective before the new energies are allowed to enter and welcomed in.
Healing comes in many ways. A reading is one good way to experience it.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Asking
In the process of making our transitions and achieving our goals, we can get help from other people simply for the asking. It is good to be reminded of this in a simple elemental way. It feels really good when our task just got made easier because someone helped us.
People like to help other people. That is why when disasters hit, people suddenly and spontaneously to see what they can do to help. It is as much human nature to be compassionate as it is to be concerned about survival.
Sometimes what another person might need to achieve their goal is something that we can easily provide. However, if we don't ask, we will never know.
Of course, nobody really likes someone who is always asking for something and not giving anything in return. Gratitude is an important aspect of giving and receiving. But returns do not have to be in terms like money.
For example, there is an old Celtic tradition that if a stranger is given food and shelter for the night, the stranger repays the kindness with a gift of song, poetry or storytelling.
Once again we see the traditional emphasis on the exchange of energy.
So on your way to creating your new life, your new career, your healing, your art, your whatever, remember that it is fine to ask. Then also remember that it is appropriate to offer something in return.
Sometimes the giver will not ask for anything for themselves, so the payback comes in more general terms of showing a kindness to someone else.
You know the old saying. What goes around, comes around.
People like to help other people. That is why when disasters hit, people suddenly and spontaneously to see what they can do to help. It is as much human nature to be compassionate as it is to be concerned about survival.
Sometimes what another person might need to achieve their goal is something that we can easily provide. However, if we don't ask, we will never know.
Of course, nobody really likes someone who is always asking for something and not giving anything in return. Gratitude is an important aspect of giving and receiving. But returns do not have to be in terms like money.
For example, there is an old Celtic tradition that if a stranger is given food and shelter for the night, the stranger repays the kindness with a gift of song, poetry or storytelling.
Once again we see the traditional emphasis on the exchange of energy.
So on your way to creating your new life, your new career, your healing, your art, your whatever, remember that it is fine to ask. Then also remember that it is appropriate to offer something in return.
Sometimes the giver will not ask for anything for themselves, so the payback comes in more general terms of showing a kindness to someone else.
You know the old saying. What goes around, comes around.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
There Is No "Right Number"
When planning ahead, many of us are trying to save enough money to start a business or for some other major change. But when circumstances beyond our control change quickly, we find ourselves needing to launch that next phase without the "right number" we were hoping for.
So if we have to act now, then we just have to go with what we've got. We may wish we had more, but suddenly we find ourselves hustling to make things work with what we have. Even in a well thought out plan, opportunities or difficulties can present us with costs we had not planned on.
We might find it a bit scary, but not having the "right number" can make us more creative. Having plenty can make a person complacent. Why hurry up and do something if you don't have to?
Every person who starts a new business has some touch and go moments when tight budgeting sharpens focus and causes a person to check out all kinds of wild and off the wall ideas, and can put a person in the position of needing to borrow to meet obligations. It is an invigorating challenge.
Truth is, I think that we are rarely as fully prepared as we would like to be, and so we find ourselves having to launch without our right number, doing our best to make a go of it with what we've got.
The right number may be out of reach when we find ourselves pressed into action, so we proceed with the clear objective in mind of making a profit. And if we did wait until we had plenty to more than offset any difficulty, we may delay getting started forever.
When the world throws us a challenge and we hit the ground running, there is no right number, just working numbers. There are ideals and then there are pragmatic choices. In the absence of the "right numbers" we look at the picture from every angle and look for ways to make it work with whatever numbers we've got.
So if we have to act now, then we just have to go with what we've got. We may wish we had more, but suddenly we find ourselves hustling to make things work with what we have. Even in a well thought out plan, opportunities or difficulties can present us with costs we had not planned on.
We might find it a bit scary, but not having the "right number" can make us more creative. Having plenty can make a person complacent. Why hurry up and do something if you don't have to?
Every person who starts a new business has some touch and go moments when tight budgeting sharpens focus and causes a person to check out all kinds of wild and off the wall ideas, and can put a person in the position of needing to borrow to meet obligations. It is an invigorating challenge.
Truth is, I think that we are rarely as fully prepared as we would like to be, and so we find ourselves having to launch without our right number, doing our best to make a go of it with what we've got.
The right number may be out of reach when we find ourselves pressed into action, so we proceed with the clear objective in mind of making a profit. And if we did wait until we had plenty to more than offset any difficulty, we may delay getting started forever.
When the world throws us a challenge and we hit the ground running, there is no right number, just working numbers. There are ideals and then there are pragmatic choices. In the absence of the "right numbers" we look at the picture from every angle and look for ways to make it work with whatever numbers we've got.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Yes, Following Yes
One of the secrets of success is to go with the flow. How many times have we received those intuitive impulses to do or not do something, but didn't heed it and later regretted it?
How many times have we not picked up a clue and missed a good opportunity?
Some people learn quickly and ride the currents of energy, while others keep overriding or ignoring the directions being sent in by spirit guides.
For some of us, it may be just a bit of stubbornness. For others, we are just not used to tuning in.
Don't believe me. Just test it for the next week. Take note of every situation where you got that gut feeling and you either paid attention or did not. Note what the result was.
After observing these results, see what happens if you start tuning in more and following the yes. Follow the yes and see if you don't get better results. If you get a gut feeling that the answer is no, leave it. Watch and see. Do your own experiment for a week. Then apply the lessons and see if your life does not get better.
How many times have we not picked up a clue and missed a good opportunity?
Some people learn quickly and ride the currents of energy, while others keep overriding or ignoring the directions being sent in by spirit guides.
For some of us, it may be just a bit of stubbornness. For others, we are just not used to tuning in.
Don't believe me. Just test it for the next week. Take note of every situation where you got that gut feeling and you either paid attention or did not. Note what the result was.
After observing these results, see what happens if you start tuning in more and following the yes. Follow the yes and see if you don't get better results. If you get a gut feeling that the answer is no, leave it. Watch and see. Do your own experiment for a week. Then apply the lessons and see if your life does not get better.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Paying Attention
Paying attention is key to enjoying life. Of course, enjoying life includes getting what we want.
Examples. If a person is not paying attention to the music, all of a sudden a beautiful dance turns into a chaotic mess.
If a person is driving a car and not paying attention, accidents happen.
If a small business owner does not pay attention to excellent performance or making use of every opportunity that comes their way, they fall short of their goals, or worse, lose it all.
If a person does not pay attention to their physical well being, they can create consequences that make their own physical comfort decrease.
What makes one person a better lover than another? Paying attention.
What makes one person more creative than another? Paying attention.
Malidoma Some, an African shaman, says that "A person who has a problem learning to drum is a person who has a problem with listening."
Carry that thought out to those things which are important to us. We can never become excellent at anyting without paying attention.
If we pay attention to the things we say are important to us, success has got to come to us, in larger or smaller amounts.
Paying attention is the true cost of success.
Examples. If a person is not paying attention to the music, all of a sudden a beautiful dance turns into a chaotic mess.
If a person is driving a car and not paying attention, accidents happen.
If a small business owner does not pay attention to excellent performance or making use of every opportunity that comes their way, they fall short of their goals, or worse, lose it all.
If a person does not pay attention to their physical well being, they can create consequences that make their own physical comfort decrease.
What makes one person a better lover than another? Paying attention.
What makes one person more creative than another? Paying attention.
Malidoma Some, an African shaman, says that "A person who has a problem learning to drum is a person who has a problem with listening."
Carry that thought out to those things which are important to us. We can never become excellent at anyting without paying attention.
If we pay attention to the things we say are important to us, success has got to come to us, in larger or smaller amounts.
Paying attention is the true cost of success.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
All Kinds of Ghost Towns
Recently, I had to catch a flight at 6:30 am at Denver Airport. Rather than try and wake up early, I thought it might be better to just head over there in the middle of the night when there would be no rush hour traffic and I could just get the do it yourself boarding pass and breeze through security. I figured I could just nap by my gate and I would be all set.
I was quite surprised to discover that the airport was basically closed during the early morning hours. Even the do it yourself boarding pass computers displayed signs that said that they would not be available until after 4 am. The security gate did not open until 4:30 am. There was only the Burger King open at that time of day, and other than the other lost traveler like myself, the only other people there were the cleaning crew.
There was an eerie feeling to being in the middle of what is normally a very busy public space with all the stores, bars and restaurants closed, no ticket agents at the desks, no throngs of travelers milling about trying to find their gates, or checking the boards to see if their flight will be on time.
A place like this is never really empty. There is always a residual energy from all of the people who have used the place. It can never really be empty because all of those energies and emotions leave a residue that still flows through the place even in the middle of the night when there are no flights taking off and no one appears to be there besides the cleaning and maintenance people.
It is a different sort of ghost town, sort of like one of those old mining towns that went bust a hundred years ago, except that this one comes back to life every 24 hours.
Or maybe it is just a result of the 24/7 world that we live in that we think of certain places as never shutting down. Of course, when the silver mines and gold mines were booming and everybody seemed to be heading for the mountains with a pick, a shovel, a pack mule and a gun, the little towns that outfitted them looked busy all the time too.
Amazing the things that come to you when you simply arrive in a place at an odd time and you sleep in short bursts awakened by energies that seem both familiar and strange before dozing off again. There are all kinds of ghost towns.
I was quite surprised to discover that the airport was basically closed during the early morning hours. Even the do it yourself boarding pass computers displayed signs that said that they would not be available until after 4 am. The security gate did not open until 4:30 am. There was only the Burger King open at that time of day, and other than the other lost traveler like myself, the only other people there were the cleaning crew.
There was an eerie feeling to being in the middle of what is normally a very busy public space with all the stores, bars and restaurants closed, no ticket agents at the desks, no throngs of travelers milling about trying to find their gates, or checking the boards to see if their flight will be on time.
A place like this is never really empty. There is always a residual energy from all of the people who have used the place. It can never really be empty because all of those energies and emotions leave a residue that still flows through the place even in the middle of the night when there are no flights taking off and no one appears to be there besides the cleaning and maintenance people.
It is a different sort of ghost town, sort of like one of those old mining towns that went bust a hundred years ago, except that this one comes back to life every 24 hours.
Or maybe it is just a result of the 24/7 world that we live in that we think of certain places as never shutting down. Of course, when the silver mines and gold mines were booming and everybody seemed to be heading for the mountains with a pick, a shovel, a pack mule and a gun, the little towns that outfitted them looked busy all the time too.
Amazing the things that come to you when you simply arrive in a place at an odd time and you sleep in short bursts awakened by energies that seem both familiar and strange before dozing off again. There are all kinds of ghost towns.
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