SSi | An Inspirational Multimedia Company

March 26, 2012
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The Case for Quiet

Well my friends over at Affluent Magazine have done it again. The latest issue of Affluent is gorgeous. I have said it before that this magazine feels so fabulous to hold. The cover is velvety soft, the content is varied and wonderful and the photos are always stunning. Below is my article in this issue that appears in my regular column. Be sure to click the cover image to enjoy Affluent as an online flip book and see my article on pages 50 and 51.

The Case for Quiet

(As printed in the March/April issue of Affluent Magazine)

More than a decade into the new millennium it is clear that time for silence in our daily lives is becoming more elusive. Our easy access to technology, information and entertainment overtakes our ability to tune out, shut off, and dare I say, silence it all.

You are in good company if the comfort of your smart phone ear buds has become just as important as the comfort of your shoes—if not more so. After all, it seems that our attachment to our continuous stream of information has moved from the nice-to-have category to the must-have. This truth has us accessing information while at the gym, during our commute and doing other activities.

Perhaps this is not you. Maybe you are among those who do not bring your phone along when walking your dog or heading into the bathroom. Maybe you do not reach over to your bedside table to check Facebook even before stepping out of bed in the morning and the last thing in the evening.

There is still a contingent of people who spend the final moments of each day before settling for bed reading, sitting quietly in meditation or journaling the day’s events. This same contingent likely also prefers to keep the TV off at bedtime choosing not to invite the outside world into that sacred space. If you are among this group you know a significant truth.

Silence can re-align and re-calibrate your life.

Quiet, defined simply, is the absence of noise. However a truer and more expansive definition tells us that it is more than this. Quiet is where we can access truth, inspiration, clarity and insight. True silence offers a pregnant pause from our fast forwarded lives. This pause allows us to become aware of our breath, our intentions and our connection to virtually everything we share our existence with.

Human beings need moments of quiet to reflect on what we allow to shape our days and our lives. Reversing over-stimulation, stepping outside of our plans and schedules and allowing blocks of time to be inaccessible offers us a beautiful opportunity. This opportunity can create a revolution in life with transformational effects. It allows a deeper awareness of Divine nudges streaming to us 24/7 and creates the space to ask the big and little questions that direct our lives. So how do we do it? How do we invite the quiet into our lives without feeling like it is a burden or a must-do?

IDEAS to SOLVE the QUIET CONUNDRUM

Invite Sounds Mindfully
Right now, notice the sounds you hear. Which ones have you invited intentionally? Which sounds are beyond your control? While you may not be able to silence the ambulance sirens as they wail past you or the jet engines flying overhead, surely there is something you can choose. A few easy examples of this are to mute your phone, silence your computer or turn the TV off while you cook dinner.

Wake Up Wonderful
Do you know how delicious a morning can be when you awaken, not because of an alarm or sunlight in your eyes, but simply because your body signaled you that it was fully rested? If the opportunity to awaken like this is rare for you, try this post-alarm-clock exercise. Before rising, focus on your nourishing life-giving breath. Gradually move your awareness from your toes, to your calves, knees and so on, until you move up your body to your eyes and top of your head. Visualize each breath waking up, fueling and appreciating each body part as you focus your breath there.

Drive Quietly
Intentionally drive with the radio off and your phone turned off and stored away from reach. This will also mean you have no use for your hands-free earpiece as well. Whether your drive is two minutes or two hours it will offer you a contemplative opportunity that few other activities offer. For the same reason that people instinctively turn the radio down when they are lost, quiet offers clarity and direction.

Back to Nature
Enjoying silence does not have to take place while seated on a meditation cushion while alone in a room. Enjoy a walk (again with no media or phone) and try this challenge. Find a spot on your walk where you can sit or stand where there is not one manmade object within your 180-degree view. Enjoy that spot and consider the beauty of nature there and your connection to it.

Body Talk
Create an opportunity to have a quiet moment with your body. While standing, sitting or laying down ask yourself this,” What would my body have me know and act on? What does it need from me?” You may be surprised to learn that you will get a spot-on answer that could range from guidance that you need more vitamin C, to moisturize more or drink less coffee, to bigger things like quitting your job that overwhelms you with exhaustion. Your body knows, so ask!

Quiet creates an energetic space. Since we know that nature abhors a vacuum, that quiet space is certain to be filled with something non-sensory. That allows a different kind of “hearing” to step in, intuition. It allows for another kind of vision, insight. This quiet allows us to access our Divine GPS which utilizes our physical body for feedback, to speak to us of our connection to nature, our health, each other and our life purpose.

Silence offers us the opportunity to be present. Real presence and awareness shines the light on the good available to us every day of our lives. And on those days when there is tumult, confusion or a situation that seems impossible—silence can offer tranquility unmatched by anything sold, bottled or brewed.

Rena M Reese is the founder of Soul Salon International, an inspirational multimedia company that also offers coaching and consulting to help people find their “happy place.” She is the author of several titles, a professional speaker and the host of a weekly radio program, The Soul Salon. Please visit SoulSalonInternational.com on the web, on Facebook and on twitter @TheSoulSalon.

April 23, 2012
by admin
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Think positive while healing: Your cells are listening

I regularly receive emails from people who have read and experienced The Little Book of Pink as they healed from cancer, another health challenge or physical/emotional adversity. Consistently, I hear that the affirmations and meditations in this little book, filled the mind and heart of the reader with positivity, hope and personal power. Why does this work? How can it be that words can transform?

It really is not much of a mystery if we peek at how the words of others land on us when they are encouraging or belittling–full of praise or negative judgment–gratitude or rebuking. If the words others share with us are so powerful, it stands to reason that our own, spoken more frequently hold even greater power.

When you speak positively about a desire and feel as though the truth of it is already yours, your body responds. Your cells listen attentively and respond like a dutiful student who adores a teacher and wants to please. Affirmations can positively change your life when coupled with positive emotions. They can change your mood, your actions, perspective, and expectations. As a matter of fact, expectation coupled with your intentions are a powerful 1-2 punch to create what you desire. You don’t even have to think about HOW you will achieve the things you are affirming, you will create that as you go both consciously and unconsciously. Holding a clear expectation attracts the outcome you desire.

When you expect a certain outcome as relayed in an affirmation, your body responds just as it does to placebo pills in scientific research. Your brain lights up differently when you believe something is on its way to you–even if it is only “in fun” that you go to that place of “feeling”, your body cannot discern whether it isreally experiencing it or it is a game of make believe. The brain actually desires to come into alignment with our intention and the pre-frontal cortex actually sets in motion a process that changes the brain in a process called neuroplasticity. Of course we don’t need to know all that, we just have to know it works.

How to do it:

1. Think of a short mantra which encompasses your intention in the form of a simple statement. Make sure it is something you really want, not something you think you should want.

2. Make it present tense as though it is truth now. (If you put it in future tense, it will always remain in the future.)

3. Make it believable. “I am attracting unexpected income everyday.” may feel more possible than “I have a billion dollars in my savings account.”

4. Keep it positive. Affirming “I am happy.” will attract a much better result than “I am not depressed.”

5. Visualize, Visualize, Visualize! Close your eyes, and imagine just what it would look and feel like to experience your desire. Do this daily and often. Not only is it like a mini-vacation, it is a tool of creation. Scientists hooked Olympic athletes up to monitoring systems and had them run their events in their minds and shockingly, their muscles fired as though they were actually physically participating in their event!

6. Make it multi-sensory. Visualize your desire as though it already is, speak your affirmation mentally, aloud, write it down and read it…

7. Keep it fun. This is not a tedious homework assignment. It should be fun. Keep the energy around this light and fun.

8. Close your day with it. The last thing you give your mind to think about at night is what it will mull over all night long. If it focuses on your goals and good feelings, your brain will use that in the creation process. Conversely, negative tv news wrought with fear and negativity will creep in your cells and do a job on you as you sleep.

Whether it is a financial stability, a healthy body, vibrant relationship or world peace you desire, affirmations that you enjoy, feel, state andcelebrate are a tool to bring them to fruition.

All the best!

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

May 11, 2012
by admin
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Miracle spice in healing from cancer

I have been Googling, reading and researching since I attended a talk over two years ago at the then, innaugural session of the Mind-Body for cancer group at The Mindfulness Center. At that time I was awakened to some empowering notions about healing from a cancer diagnosis from TMC’s Founder, Dr. Debbie Norris. We discussed nutrition and how critical it is for patients to know just how powerful their nutritional choices are in the quest to return to full-health after a diagnosis.

Founder of The Mindfulness Center Dr. Debbie Norris

In both my discussion with Debbie and in my research I found that there are things we can be eating now–whether you are headed for healing–or already there. It seems that there are a lot of anti-cancer foods and spices that can trouble shoot from many angles. Some reduce inflammation in the body and stave off tumor growth. Some foods act as cancer-cell bullies which through a term “apoptsis” forces cells into their last rites. Other foods detox the body, neutralize free radicals, and then flush the system of these toxins.

The fact of the matter is food is a tool–a tool the shaman of indigenous societies knew about and used in the interest of their tribes health and healing. And amazingly–without the litany of side-effects you’ll hear rattled off during a drug commercial on TV.

Yes, certain foods it seems, can not only help us heal, but help prevent us from getting the diagnosis at all. So, we know about olive oil and the magical omega-3′s in fish, but what are some foods that are being credited with terrific healing and cell health? Well, I have discovered that the list is long–very long–without a lot of big surprises. But, there were a few. And there was one in particular that had me wondering, “Why doesn’t everyone know about the research on this spice?”

So grab some paper…

Broccoli and cauliflower were named all over the place along with their relatives Chinese cabbage and Brussels sprouts.

Chives and garlic… not just great at keeping vampires away– but have been shown to seriously effect cancer cells in the prostate, breast, lungs and the colon. And when I say seriously effect –I mean promote their demise.

Ginger and ginger root... and of course green tea… citrus fruits, as well as pomegranate– all well respected by the medical community and represented well in research too. Chocolate containing more than 70% cocoa is another power house. (Don’t get crazy with that last one… the daily serving suggested is pretty small)

But the most surprising find that I learned about from Dr. Norris is the potent value of Turmeric. I read a lot after learning from her about the findings on this magical spice. It acts like nature’s healing pharmacy when it comes to choking cancer cells, mimicking chemo and promoting their death. This spice found in curry is being touted as a natural anti-inflammatory unmatched by any other. So, if you could add one thing to your diet–it seems this is the one. I have also read that not only does it seriously impact tumor growth, but also seems to make chemotherapy more effective. This is astounding to me because this is a great deal of power assigned to this little spice found in curry powder. For greater effectiveness I have read it is suggested to buy straight tumeric which gives you more potent benefits and not just the 20-30% which is found in curry powder.

Tumeric comes from the root of the Curcuma longa plant– a plant I never heard of before researching this. It is rich in manganese and iron and you’ll be glad to know that while it will take on cancerous cells quite valiantly–it also can help you with some lesser ills. Yup, in both India and ancient China this little magic worker also helped with jaundice, toothaches, colic, menstrual issues and to put it mildly, if you were feeling a little “gassy”. I read in Prevention that it is suggested that tumeric (for those with cancer) with olive or canola oil–teaspoon of each with a good pinch of black pepper mixed in. (The black pepper acts as a sort of activator.) Sounds pretty tough to knock back, but you can also add it to soups or a salad dressing or use it with a natural sweetener such as agave nectar to sweeten the combo.

*I want to remind you that I am not a doctor–just a woman on a quest to be healthy and help anyone who is Headed-for-Healing. After all, that is where our happy plce resides–in a place of full health. What I have shared here, you can further research on your own and use it to have a conversation with your doctor –it is not a prescription since I do not know you and your situation. Truly we have a great deal of ability to impact our health with the choices we make each day.*

All the very best!

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

May 31, 2012
by Dr. Michael Harris, PhD
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DrMichaelHarris Blog 2012-05-31 06:24:00

The Saving Seed: Growing a Financially Healthy Family Tree by Ashley Parks
Click here to go to the radio show
Monday June 4, 2012 @ 1 pm (CST) I have the pleasure of interviewing Certified Financial Planner, Ashley Parks CFP, author of "The Saving Seed". This book is a great way to teach your children (and yourself) the process, methodology and FUN of getting your finances and savings plan under your control and making saving a habit.

About the Author:
Ashley Bogard Parks, CFP® holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from Texas A&M University and a Graduate Certificate in Financial Planning from Southern Methodist University. She has been advising clients since 1999 in her hometown of Dallas, Texas where she resides with her family.
We all have a personal root system that has been developing throughout our lives. Ashley’s career has offered her amazing insight into the personal lives of individuals that she comes in contact with on a daily basis. That insight, along with her own personal journey, spurred her to put her passion on paper. The stories and personal experiences over her career motivated her to write a book geared towards helping families gain not only personal well-being, but financial well-being. The Saving Seed is Ashley’s gift to others. Her philosophy on life is one of becoming self and becoming greater than our temporal world suggests. “What can we do that will positively impact others and allow us to grow?”
“We must give to others and the world. It is not ours to own and we must leave a positive impression as we pass by on our journey.”
Unleash your "inner saver" and Be Transformed

About Michael Harris:

Michael Harris, PhD, internationally known hypnotist, transition coach, speaker and author is an expert in language of communication of Sensory/Learning Styles. He is active locally and nationally, including private and public speaking on the Mind/Body Connection, Hypnosis and Sensory/Learning Styles. Checkout the website, See his latest video on youtube and on BlogTalk radio

click here to go to the radio show

May 30, 2012
by Joshua Rich's Blog
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Ma petite fille ..

My daughter is almost 14 and I’ve been struck for the last couple of years by how different she is and how almost none of what used to work with her is effective any longer .. we have always had a great connection and an easy rhythm with one another, but lately it feels like I am having to learn all over again how to parent .. it reminds me of when she was first born and everything was new and unknown to me about her .. what she was like .. what she needed .. how she looked at life .. very quickly we learned each other, and partly it was easy because she was such a sweet, happy, gentle little girl .. she would wake up in her crib singing .. my musical alarm clock .. she fell asleep easily .. she laughed a lot and was very bright ..

Now, in her teen years, the risks are so much bigger than when she was little .. I used to be worried about whether she would make friends, or if she was safe coming home from school .. was she healthy .. was she happy ..

You know, it’s funny, tho .. as I write this, I am realizing that, actually, not much has really changed .. she still loves to sing, only now it’s pop music .. she still can sleep easily, only know she conks out after insisting on staying up til the bitter end, as her best friend lays next to her on the couch .. she still laughs a lot but often I have no idea what the joke really is .. and she is still amazingly smart ..

And the things I worry about, really, aren’t very different either .. I still hope she’ll make good choices about who she picks as friends, as I see these relationships carry so much more emotion and intensity than ever before .. I still worry about her being safe after school and during school .. I want to know that she’s healthy, although the things I worry about her dealing with are more serious now .. and I still hope that she will be happy, as I see her sweet, sensitive spirit sometimes dampened and challenged by the world at large ..

So, not much has changed and everything has changed .. welcome to the paradox and irony of parenting ,, and the elegant, mystifying, humbling journey of being a father ..

Joshua Rich is a divinely gifted, self-taught pianist , composer and performer. You can sample all of his inspirational, healing and upbeat music for all ages at www.joshuarich.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @joshuarich. And please take a moment to enjoy his Morning Inspiration, and like it on Facebook!

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May 29, 2012
by Dr. Michael Harris, PhD
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Trust the pie…

I went to see the latest installment of the "Men in Black" movies this weekend.
I can say it's worth the price of admission which in Dallas, TX with popcorn
and goodies can be upward towards 50-60 bucks. So at those prices, I'm expecting
a life changing event...

There is a particular scene in the movie (no, I won't spoil the plot) in which there is a needed
beak in the action and the character played by Tommy Lee Jones states "his grandfather always recommended a slice of pie when a unresolvable problem presented itself" (paraphrased).

I totally agree that when you have worked your head (conscious mind) until you have exhausted all of your known responses to a challenge, problem or issue the best course of action is to do nothing.

Talk a walk, take a nap, color in a coloring book with your kids DO SOMETHING OTHER than thinking and something amazing with occur. The solution to the problem will present itself. The power of the unconscious mind to reach into other areas of expertise and to draw upon resources outside of your self is boundless, if you allow the process to work.. The funny thing is that you cannot be in your conscious mind and your unconscious mind at the same time, so for me, the answer is obvious. The conscious mind can keep track of 7 (plus or minus 2) things at any one time and the unconscious mind and keep track of a infinite number of things simultaneously; which one would you pick?

The next time you've got a "something" you need to figure out...TRUST THE PIE

here's the trailer

talk to you soon,
M

about the Author

Michael Harris, PhD, internationally known hypnotist, transition coach, speaker and author is an expert in language of communication of Sensory Stacks. He is active locally and nationally, including private and public speaking on the Mind/Body Connection, Hypnosis and Sensory/Learning Styles. See his latest video on youtube and on BlogTalk radio

May 29, 2012
by Joshua Rich's Blog
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Better with two ..

These last few weeks have really been about irony, yin and yang .. opposites creating something necessary .. my Morning Inspiration today is about going through life with someone else and I’ve also been thinking about being a father, which I have been for most of my adult life .. thinking about how partners and children help you develop and become who you are .. and the irony of how sometimes you are challenged through these kinds of relationships, and yet, it is these very challenges that help you grow and learn and become strong .. when I am with people who do not have children, I wonder what it would be like if I didn’t have any, and how incredibly different my life would be .. I know that children help ground me, and teach me, and open up my world so that I think about more than myself .. and I know that some people don’t need that .. some people are born already knowing how to see more than just themselves and how to view the world in a broader way .. so I’m happy that I’ve had children and that I’ve been in relationship throughout my life .. but I see how it could be had I not chosen that and it’s really interesting to consider that ..

At any rate, my main point is that we only experience ourselves through others and so, whatever relationship you choose and however you choose to have it, will determine how you grow and what kind of person you become ..

I believe in pre-destiny, also .. that we choose our journey and our lessons before we incarnate and so the important and significant people who are in our lives are the ones we chose (and the ones who chose us) in order to fully manifest our higher selves .. it’s good to keep this in mind when the challenges arise .. that not only are we learning lessons from the ones we have called forth to teach us, but it is these very lessons which are vital for us to become ever closer to our fully realized selves .. in concert with the divine .. in touch with what is ultimately most important and crucial to being alive ..

Joshua Rich is a divinely gifted, self-taught pianist , composer and performer. You can sample all of his heartfelt, upbeat and transcendent music at www.joshuarich.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @joshuarich. And please take a moment to enjoy his Morning Inspiration, and like it on Facebook!

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May 26, 2012
by Joshua Rich's Blog
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More beauty ..

The irony of being artistic and creative is that the sensitivity needed for that kind of energy is sometimes a challenge in dealing with all of the things that come along with being artistic and creative .. to put yourself out there in any way, to stick your neck out, be different, take a chance, act in a way that is not what the majority is doing, takes courage .. to be willing to share something that you have made is brave .. it’s easy to sit back and criticize other people’s inventions or ideas .. it’s far harder to be the one who believes in themselves strongly enough to make those ideas or inventions available .. it’s funny to me that we are this way, since our country was founded on the idea of independence and self-motivation .. and yet we tend to like following the crowd ..

So, to be sensitive and creative is to care, and to see the world a bit differently than others .. is to dream and have a vision of what can be .. is to be affected by things people say and do .. if artists didn’t possess this kind of awareness and responsiveness, they wouldn’t be able to create in the first place ..

There’s a story that Sir Isaac Newton was a child on a farm, and very poor, and someone met him and recognized his ability and incredible mind .. and offered to pay his mother what she needed to take care of herself, so that Newton could be sequestered and nurtured into the amazing mathematician and scholar he became .. I guess that’s what every artist needs .. to be sequestered, somehow, protected from the world to the extent that they don’t have to deal directly with the slings and arrows .. and yet still be present in that same world enough that they can feel, and think, and manifest their magical and divinely inspired visions ..

Here’s hoping every artist finds that .. here's hoping that every budding Da Vinci and O'Keefe and Ross and Mozart finds that beautiful, giving spirit who allows them to flourish and become all that they are intended to be .. for after all, the world needs more beauty, not less ..

, and like it on Facebook!

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May 25, 2012
by Joshua Rich's Blog
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Becoming ..

One more thing about how people can help you define yourself by virtue of their energy .. I realized yesterday that it isn’t so much about who the person presenting you with a challenge is .. it’s more about who you are .. in centering on what kind of opportunities the challenges present me with, I am defining my own self and gaining more confidence in myself than ever before .. I feel stronger, and more sure than I have ever felt in my life .. and so, it’s about who I am, who I want to be, what I give and how big my heart is .. much, much more than who the person is that is trying to disrupt my energy ..

So, yes, we can utilize other people’s energies in order to help us become fuller spirits and closer to our Higher Self .. but we should always remember that it’s more about who we are than who the other person is ..

I have an image in my mind of a watery image that only becomes more clear as others try to put negative or unfair energy upon it .. the more disruptive they are the clearer the pure, real picture becomes .. until, finally, the most beautiful and true version of our selves is standing there, calm, happy, humble, and ready .. to be in this world in the most amazing way we can be ..

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May 23, 2012
by Joshua Rich's Blog
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Amidst the bramble ..

I have blogged about this before but I think it bears repeating, or re-blogging .. anyone who presents a challenge to us in this lifetime is not only our teacher, but also an opportunity for us to cement who we are and make sure we really know what we believe .. someone who comes at us with negativity and doubt, if viewed correctly, can present us with a chance to decide fully what we really feel and who we really are .. and not in a mean or spiteful way .. but rather, gently, lovingly, and honestly, we can take the energy from the person and take a deep breath, and decide internally what we feel to be true for our selves .. and then, in this truth, we can act with forgiveness and gratitude towards the person ..

I’m not saying we should allow ourselves to be treated badly, per se .. but I do think there is much value in being given poor treatment as long as you use it to guide your inner voice .. someone who constantly derides our position can actually help strengthen that position, or perhaps even show us a different aspect to our position that is useful .. the key is to let go of ego and try to humbly remember that everyone is here to help us grow, if we want that .. our Higher Self is calling, always, for someone to assist us on our journey to the Divine .. and it may be bumpy and hard and uncomfortable sometimes, but really, that is sometimes the only way to really grow .. as we must pare through the thicket of thorns to find the magnificent beauty of the rose ..

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May 22, 2012
by Joshua Rich's Blog
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All the world’s a stage ..

I have been thinking lately about my journey to becoming an internationally known musician .. the path has included many unexpected bumps and detours .. and yet, through it all, my music survived and flourished .. as I near the attainment of my goal, I reflect on how it doesn’t matter how you get somewhere .. it doesn’t matter when you get there .. it only matters that you get there .. it doesn’t matter how many obstacles you are presented with or how many challenges you may face or have to overcome .. it just matters that you keep your faith in God and belief in yourself and march on, ever on ..

Just like a play where the backstage calamities may be many, as long as the audience is being entertained and is happy, it doesn’t matter that the sets might be held up by string and the stage manager is going crazy trying to get the actors on stage and the light cues are just barely being called correctly .. it only matters that the final production goes off without a hitch and the people watching are satisfied ..

We ought not judge ourselves or others on how we attain what we have .. instead, we ought to focus on what we do with our success .. how we use it .. how we share it .. how we inspire others to achieve the same thing .. and we ought not get caught up in regret or self-criticism .. we are who we are, we have the walk we have chosen to walk and we need to embrace our story and tell it with all of our heart, proudly and strongly .. be the person we are striving to be and let go of the voice in our head that tries to make us feel bad or worthless .. encourage our own hearts as we would encourage others and realise that, as long as the final number is performed well and the standing ovation ensues, it doesn’t really matter how long or how hard it takes to actually be up there in the footlights to begin with .. it only matters that you’re there, finally , shining, basking in the spotlight, being who you are as fully and magnificently as possible ..

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May 17, 2012
by Joshua Rich's Blog
0 comments

The many stages ..

It occurs to me that everything changes but we adapt and actually are given the ability to cope and shift and deal with the changes, if we are present and aware, and trusting .. for instance, with kids .. when they are little babies, just beginning to sleep in a crib, we are somehow able to function without the sleep that we don’t get while tending to them at night and being there for them .. there’s coffee, of course .. but there’s something else that kicks in which gives us the ability to find some reserve and some energy to be there for them .. then, as they get older, and need different things, we seem to be magically equipped to innately understand this and we respond in kind .. I’m not saying that everything comes naturally as a parent .. personally, I have been quite humbled and have learned a lot about myself through parenting .. however, I think I have also found qualities inside of myself that I wasn’t heretofore aware of .. much like what women are able to do while giving birth, when somehow a strength arises and they are able to push and help the baby be born .. God’s grace and miraculous gifts of undiscovered capacities is revealed in that amazing and challenging time ..

And I suppose this is a metaphor for life .. we are always - if we try hard enough and have faith, and breathe - able to respond to whatever challenges come our way .. without any effort, really, something that we didn’t know was inside of us subtly emerges and brings us the aptitude and clarity to face any problems or unexpected twists and turns along the way ..

The infant becomes the toddler becomes the young child becomes the teenager becomes the adult .. and as they pass through each stage we can be there for them and learn, and grow, and succeed in keeping a loving communication throughout, if we are purposeful and determined .. and our own personal life and goals grown in much the same way .. remember always to have faith in yourself .. you are the answer to everything .. trust .. listen .. be ..

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May 15, 2012
by Joshua Rich's Blog
0 comments

Simple and elegant ..

This has been a season of learning to let go, learning to not take things personally, learning to stay focused on the ultimate goal, rather than get distracted by ego or emotion .. it’s almost harder, in a way, to stay centered and just keep your eyes on what you want to achieve .. feelings can get the best of you and it’s a challenge to stay on track .. but, I suppose, after years of being easily put off my game, so to speak, I realized that there is beauty and elegance in simply remaning humbly (yet firmly) directed on what I want, even if it means letting other people think things about me that aren’t true .. it’s fairly liberating to just let go of caring so much about what someone might be thinking, and instead stay true to what my heart yearns for and let it be okay that I am seeking that ..

Perhaps in some way most things come down to deciding that you deserve them .. and for whatever reasons some of us have that question in our minds .. but why don’t we deserve to be happy and to have our lives reflect that which we believe in and that which we want for ourselves and others? Why don’t we get to stay on the path that is best for us, the one that we have decided best serves us, even if it isn’t the one someone else would choose for us? And to feel this way and be this way with grace and appreciation for those who might challenge our way, is truly in the divine line with God .. acceptance and grace .. that’s what I feel He wants us to act with and how He wants us to make choices .. no need for anger or petty things .. truly, all we need is love ..

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