Month: August 2020

I’ve been thinking about blocks. What are blocks? Blocks are used to build things. Blocks are for walking your dog around. And blocks are what we call thought patterns that get in your way. There are outer blocks and inner blocks. The blocks I’m referring to are the kinds of blocks we unknowingly build inside ourselves over a lifetime or two, or three.  And they come back to bite us at the most inopportune times. 
We spend our lives doing things, wanting to do things, and not doing things. Why do we sometimes not do things we want to do? Well isn’t there a question.

I’ll share a story. This one’s for you, Diane. Many years ago, my buddy Steve and I, hey Steve, wrote a song about Martin Luther King. It’s a nice little tune if I do say so myself.  The company I was working for at the time was really big into diversity, and I don’t even remember how it happened, but one thing led to another and they paid for me to record it. We went in the studio, bolstered by an inner-city middle school choir we found to sing on it. The energy in the room with these kids was electric. It was truly an amazing experience for all involved. The recording came out great and all of a sudden these big ideas started flowing.  My sister -the marketing master- got involved, shout out to Jerri. We were talking about creating videos, writing curriculum, and sending these VHS tapes out to all the schools in the country. Somebody knew someone who might be able to get the kids from the Cosby show involved to promote it, it was exciting, it was crazy. We looked at this and played with that, talked about the other thing, and when we added it all up, it was going to cost about $750,000. Bam! You can just imagine what kind of wall that was! I did note that we were about $750,000 short of that number, and being kind of young, truly inexperienced and fairly clueless, the project just kind of rolled off the desk and under the bed. And that was that. What happened? Why didn’t we do it? I don’t know. We just didn’t.

I’m sure at the time I had all the excuses, or rather the reasons, but the answer is, I just didn’t. I probably felt overwhelmed. Who wouldn’t?  Also, I really didn’t know how to do something like that. Why didn’t I ask someone? Dunno. What was in the way? 

Knowing what I know now, I would call it a block. Something unknown to me at the time was blocking me from moving forward. Generally it’s a fear of something, and more often than not, fear of failure is the big one that keeps most projects from even getting started. Some experience fear of the unknown. And some, believe it or not, are afraid -nervous, reluctant- of success! They think, quietly to themselves, “What would life be like if I actually did get -or do- what I want? Then what”?

We are just more comfortable being where we are, -the devil we know- which, as I’ve said before, isn’t necessarily bad. And it’s easy, cuz we’re already here. But, We’re just not letting our light shine. We’re not being the best version of us we can be.  

Can you think of a time when perhaps you shrunk a bit, for whatever unknown unnamed reasons? How did you feel about it? How do you feel about it now? Are there things still blocking you from your visions? 

We’re going to talk a little more about this in the next few weeks. I’m hosting a webinar next month to address some of these and I’m curious about your thoughts and what you feel might want to be addressed.  For now, just notice where you stop yourselves. No need to do anything more than that, just notice and write it down. I’m truly interested in what you’re experiencing, so please reach out. It could be an interesting, mildly disturbing and enlightening week. But, you know what? You Got This!  

 Just sayin’

We’re all aware of the craziness of the times and the distractions. I was running errands the other day and I was lost in the moment just thinking about things. Have you ever been at a light where the cars around you go, so you just react and start forward? It’s either that or apply the brake harder. Well, this time, when the cars to each side of me started, I rolled forward, the guy in front of me didn’t. Fender Bender. Damn. I got out and checked it. No big deal.

The guy from the car in front got out and looking over, I see that he was what would be considered in today’s PC world as vertically challenged. He was about 3½ ft tall. Well, he walked back, obviously a little peeved, saw the bumpers, looked up at me and said, ‘I’m not Happy’

I looked down at them and said, ‘Which one are you?’

Smilin’? You can see I am.. That gets me every time. Are you feeling a little lighter? Sit in that for a moment. It’s palpable.

See, those rainy day feelings of sadness, loneliness, anger, judging, holding a grudge feel heavy. At least to me they do. If we’re not paying attention, it can get tiring carrying these emotions around. We can use these physical aspects as a barometer to be aware of our inner feelings as we talked about before.

There’s a concept, I’m sure you’ve heard called Enlightenment. Basically its an idea, a label of how much a part of the Light we are, if that idea resonates with you. I saw this checklist of things for us to take notice of. You can use it as a kind of measurement as to how we’re doing on our path, of course, if you find yourself on this type of journey. Some of the signposts are:

If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining,
If you can truly understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can ignore a friend’s limited education and never correct him or her,
If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
If you can honestly say that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion, gender preference, or politics,
–Then you have almost reached the same level of spiritual development as your dog!

Have a smiling sunny day, and, Be the Light.

Just sayin’

How’s it going? I’m just checking in. We seem to be doing the COVID dance again. How’s that treating you? Are you a little nervous? A little scared perhaps? Just put off? maybe it’s not affecting you at all? I was running errands last night and there was a baseball game on the radio. After all the bickering that’s been happening, whether or not you agree with the business, it’s nice to feel a moment of what used to be normal.

A lot of vacations aren’t happening, but I hear of a lot that are. People are getting out, being safe, traveling a little differently, making the best out of the cards we’ve been dealt.  That’s really all we can do. We can either think a little differently, create a new and interesting way to live, or go crazy trying to fit the old round peg into this new square hole.

For instance, how are you keeping in shape? A lot of gyms are closed or have reduced hours. I did a couple of YouTube yoga classes. Too bad the rest of the class was deprived of seeing my less than graceful downward facing dog. Have you dusted off your bicycle? How about parking farther away from the store? That creates a little walk. Walking’s good. A chance to see the neighborhood, check out the area around where you live. I drove out to a beautiful canyon I would never have visited, had a nice hike, and saw amazing views. On the way back to the car, we cut through an empty equestrian center. Don’t worry, it was open, just no activity except for one horse walking the track. Felt like I was in a different part of the country, a different time really, with the big hanging trees, the graceful fall of the land, the stately clubhouse. And Very peaceful. And it felt like a getaway, a mini-vacation!

There are lots of these hidden gems near you. Do this with a friend, or a small group! 

How’s your inner weather?   I know it’s hot around the country. Here in Southern California, it’s a properly boring 80-85 degrees and sunny every day. And cool, perfect sleeping weather at night. We’ve been in this stretch for a couple of weeks. It’s been a little overcast near the water at night, so, no comet viewing for me.   But, that’s the outer weather… how’s your inner weather?

Cloudy? as in – man, I can’t believe we have to do this again. or Rainy, like – I’m afraid I might get sick or I wonder if my job will still be there. Or are you keeping your sunny side up, as in, now’s a good time to clean out the garage, or learn to cook something else cuz I’m tired of eating my own food?   This inner weather is the weather we can control. We get to determine how we want to feel, how we want to react, how we want to see the world. 

A lot of our ability to do this is based on what we feed ourselves. Are you paying too much attention to the news? That’s pretty much a guarantee of internal rainy days. I was just talking with a friend whose business takes him around the country. He said unequivocally that those who are inundated with news are scared and unhappy.  Those who aren’t are noticeably more upbeat and happier. Make sense?  it’s your choice.

How about reading a good book? Remember that? A glass of your favorite beverage, a seat on the deck, and treat yourself to a little journey. There’s also catching up with friends, meditating, hobbying. Do what feeds your soul. 

Here’s another idea to create your own personal sunny days. You could just make a decision.  “I’m going to be happy today.” That has been proven to work.    And I get it, some days it’s just ‘I don’t feel sunny, and I can’t make the clouds go away’, and I’m ok with that!   YES. Everyone has days like that and sometimes that’s just the way it is.    But, we don’t want to live there. Do we?

Who says we can’t control the weather?  You can control your inner-weather. This kind of personal control is a beautiful, powerful, and empowering thing. It may take a little practice, but it’s absolutely worth it….  Just sayin.