During this time of year when we are about to celebrate the beginning of a brand new year, I thought a look at someone who has celebrated quite a few more New Years Eves than most of us would be a good idea. Tao Porchon-Lynch is listed in the Guinness World Book as the world's oldest yoga instructor. Here are a few things she had to say when asked about her secret to staying so youthful and vibrant:

1. Start the day right: “When I get up in the morning, I don’t think about all the things that are going to happen, whether it’s good or bad. I say to myself, "This is going to be the best day of my life."


2. Age is just a number: “I don’t believe in age. When people ask me about age, I tell them to look at all the trees around them. They’re hundreds of years old. They may look as if they’re dying at the moment, but they’re not; they’re recycling themselves. And in a couple of months, they’re going to be reborn again.”


3. Dance like nobody's watching: "Dancing makes you well again. You know, I fell and I’ve slipped. I’ve had everything, but I don’t let it take the better of me."


4. Accentuate the positive: “Whatever you put in your mind materializes. So if you put negative thoughts, you draw toward you negative things. So be positive. Just look for good."


5.  Don't procrastinate: "There’s nothing you can’t do, and you can just get up and enjoy life and see how wonderful it is. There’s so much to do, so little time to do it.”


Notice how she predominately thinks of only positive things and outcomes. She enjoys and loves nature, physical exercise, starting the day on a positive note with gratitude, following her bliss and doing what she loves and believes there is nothing she can't do. 


We don't need all those resolutions at this time of year, we just need to live every day well with just some of the spirit of this amazing soul.


Happy new Year to all. 2015 is going to be so awesome!!


Remember, "You're the one"

Today I'd like to try something a little different. I'm gearing up for 2015 and in that vein, I'd like to ask you to respond to a few quick survey questions that I have. It won't take very long and it will really help me organize for the exciting year ahead.

OK, are you ready? Here are the five quick questions:

1. How would you define spirituality?

2. Do you think spirituality enhances peoples lives? How?

3. Do you enjoy the spiritual related posts, pictures and blogs?

4. Do you enjoy the post and pictures that are added from other sites?

5. What kind of content would you like to see written about on my blog?

That's it, all done. Feel free to post the answers on Facebook instead of on my website if you wish. While this quick survey is very important to me, I will understand if you don't want to, or have time to, participate.

Thank you so much for allowing me to enter your life and share my message. I plan to introduce some exciting things for 2015, so stay tuned!


As always, take what resonates and leave the rest. 


Remember, "You're the one!"

It's that time of year again. The trees are decorated, cards are sent, presents bought, and the stores are busy. But how do you define Christmas? The Oxford Dictionary defines it this way: "An annual Christian festival celebrating Christ's birth, held on 25 December in the Western Church."
Funny, I personally have never thought about this time of year as a festival. That words brings other celebrations to mind. Perhaps just a real big "old fashioned" hoe down or shin dig would be better than all this glitz and glamour we have perceived Christmas to be. 

Let's face it it folks, we have all fallen prey to the commercial engines of society. We are told we must buy gifts for others in order for them to love us. And of course they must reciprocate or what or who would they be then? It's not all bad. I mean, who doesn't enjoy receiving a gift or two right? In the bible we are told that Mary and Joesph received gifts from three kings on behalf of baby Jesus. I guess these three fellas started it all then. If this story is actually true. Many things that were recorded in that time period were elaborately embellished by leaders at the time, for the benefit of the uneducated followers. Or sometimes they were passed down from other time periods and religions as indeed it is in this case. The birth of Horus, an Egyptian King, parallel many stories of Jesus's life, but happened centuries before. Many religions talk about the birth of a "Christos," a name given to the incarnate presence of god within.

No matter what you believe, Christmas time should be a time for joyous celebration of our births. that we are even here on this spinning orb hurtling through space, is a miracle in itself. Let's celebrate our commonalities not  define our selves by our differences. I like this quote by Joesph Campbell: "A symbol, a mythic symbol, does not refer to something which is known or knowable in a rational way. It refers to a spiritual power that is operative in life and is known only through it's effects." It would seem then that the purpose of all religious stories, including the birth of Christ, is not to entertain us, but to bring about a change of consciousness in each of us.

Take the time to be kind this Christmas season and spread the love all these stories are based on. 

Love to all, Mike.  

Motivation, to me, is grabbing an idea and carrying it through to an acceptable conclusion. Inspiration, on the other hand, is a calling to proceed even though we're unsure of goals or achievements. It may even insist that we go in the direction of uncharted territory. Years ago, when I was heavily involved in sports, the word "Motivation" was used frequently. "How can I motivate this team to reach their potential?" "How can I motivate myself to do my best and win?" In both these instances, notice I am trying to use motivation to achieve a goal that either others, or myself, wants. Motivation then, seems to be more involved with the ego than anything else. Can you really reach your true potential just through motivation? If that means merely winning at something than the answer is no.

Something that seems to come from afar, where we allow ourselves to be moved by a force that is more powerful than our ego and all it's illusions, is inspiration. Dr. Wayne Dyer likes to think of inspiration as being in-spirit. I tend to agree. I know when I am in-spirit, I feel wonderful, but even more than that, I experience joy. I'm able to receive the vibrational messages of my Source. Call these things voices, silent reminders, random suggestions or what ever you want, but they're vibrations of energy that I am able to align with as I surrender and get myself out of the way.

To reach your true potential then is to feel called to something higher, something bigger than ourselves. This often involves doing things for others, unlike motivation that mostly involves doing things for ourselves. When I perform an act of kindness or do something to help others, I feel my ultimate calling being fulfilled by my actions.  Being in-spirit is a direction we take, rather than a destination to be reached. Living our lives in-spirit requires us to determine that direction, not blindly follow others to perceived glories. We do so by noticing our thoughts and behaviours. To become inspired on a daily basis, we must be able to quickly identify any thoughts that are moving us away from our Source. We suspend our ego identification and warm to the idea of trusting the energy that created us.

When we listen and allow it to (inspiration), spirit guides us; when we fail to listen - or allow our ego to get in the way and run the show (motivation), we're going to be uninspired. It's really that simple.

As always, take what resonates and leave the rest. Please feel free to comment on this topic, I'd love to hear your opinion on whether you feel motivated or inspired.

P.S. Remember, You're the one!


 

I, Like you, sometimes sit and wonder why bad stuff has to  happen in this beautiful world of ours. One only has to watch the news to see it is filled with nightmare stories of wars, shootings, robberies, animals suffering and more. It's enough to make your head spin! After contemplating this for awhile I came to a conclusion. This is going to sound horribly naive, but the answer is: bad stuff does not happen in time and space as we know it.

Hang on now, before you throw me under the bus, let me explain myself. I believe it only appears that bad stuff happens when you are so close to the occurrence that you're actually seeing it out of context. I'm not saying that horrible, hideous and disgusting things don't happen because they do. Nor am I saying that there's no such thing as pain, suffering, or people doing evil things. 

What I am saying is there is far more to every occurrence than we can grasp with our physical senses alone. I'm saying that if you stand far enough back from any situation, no matter what has happened, you will always discover purpose, meaning, healing and love. Of course this concept raises huge questions. Does it make sense that bad things would be happening in the midst of the magnificence of creation, God's paradise, if you will? This playground of Divine intelligence? For me it doesn't. It doesn't make sense that there could be so much love and caring, even to a degree that the human mind cannot begin to fathom - while simultaneously there would be vile, hideous, disgusting things. 

Thinking otherwise would assume the Universe has made some kind of mistake, either in creating the Cosmos or in deciding to create humans, who, unforeseeably, turned out to be a runaway train of badness. Perhaps this apparent contradiction of bad stuff happening in an otherwise perfect world should tip you off that there is a bigger, deeper, greater answer.  Again that is: When you are far enough away from an experience to see it in a larger context - bad things do not appear to be happening in time and space.

As always take what resonates and leave the rest. Leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you!

P.S. "Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong." - Ayn Rand

P.S.S. Remember, "You're the one!"

Sorry to break the news to you, but you and I are not going to make it out of this one alive. One day we all will pass away and move on to a better place. A passing of the torch, if you will. There are many varied views on how this will happen or what will take place, but one thing remains for sure. It will happen, for all of us. Some folks will talk quite openly about it, others want nothing to do with any of it.

What would you like others to say about you when it does happen? "Boy, that Mike could sure write a blog." "Wow, what a talker, boy oh boy, could he ever talk up a storm." "And repair cars, sheesh! Great with a wrench that man!" Certainly not what I would like others to remember me for. When you go into a nursing home and look at the walls in peoples rooms, what do you see? Do you see Trophies, plaques and awards or pictures of family and loved ones? The latter, isn't it. 

When we are younger we want to accumulate as much as we can. Wealth, health, homes, cars, women, kids you name it. But as we grow older we start to realize there is more to life than all this stuff. We slowly start to move from ambition to meaning. We start to look for meaning in our lives. A "Why am I here", "What have I done with my life", attitude. This usually happens just after that last gasp effort to hang on to all that materialism, the great "Mid-life Crisis."  

This brings me to a report I read not that long ago. A survey was taken across America and Hospice workers were asked the following question: 

"What are the five most frequent regrets expressed when people are on their death beds?"

1. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
2. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
3. I wish I had let myself be happier.
4. I wish I had had the courage to express my true self.
5. I wish I'd lived a life true to my dreams, instead of what others expected of me.

That last one is a biggie. Think of what they will say about you at your funeral. If it's not what you think it should be, it's never too late to change it. Look at that list of five regrets again. Go ahead, look. Do you wan't to feel this way on your death bed?

What awaits us after we pass on, no one alive today really knows, but I believe it will be absolutely marvelous, and I for one, plan to have no regrets!



Take what resonates and leave the rest.


Tell me how you feel below. I'd love to hear from you.

 "When you die, you will be forced to lose everything, yet something will remain. It is the soul, which is real. Therefore you should celebrate loss. The trappings of existence can fall away at any time; the essence will always remain. And that essence is you." - Deepak Chopra

Remember, "You're the one!"

If life was just about surviving then how would you explain imagination? If it was just about sacrifice, then how would you explain desire. If it was just about thinking and reflection then how would you explain the physical world? Quite the conundrum, eh?

Planet earth! Without question, it's the most exciting place in your corner of the Universe. With over 100 million different species inhabiting land, sea and air, each with it's own mind-numbing traits and characteristics. And then there's you at the top of your self-described "food chain" with dominion over all things. The freedom to think and therefore create as you choose, and dreams to remind you of what's possible, how far you can reach, and how much you can be, do and have.

Don't you see that in this oasis of perfection, that you imagined, designed and built, you are by nature inclined to succeed? With default settings of health, friends, abundance and all things good, haven't you noticed you get what you go for 9 times out of 10? And that the one time you don't, it's part of your learning curve? Yes the cards are truly stacked in your favour.

Two hundred short years ago a modern home in Toronto meant one story, two rooms, wood plank walls, a dependable roof and a nearby outhouse. Today it may be a virtual palace on the 100th floor of a condo-skyscraper, encased by marble, glass, and bamboo, with amenities inconceivable just a decade ago. One hundred short years ago, most of the world thought flying was still for the birds, yet we now have a space station. Ten years ago, people were using MySpace.

"Dreams come true" is a popular saying now a days. Not only in the stories you tell, but in the people you idolize. You're in time and space to thrive, destined to do so, and it becomes inevitable once you know, really know, that it's true! Wishful thinking? I don't think so.

In your own life, have you not smiled way more than you've frowned? Laughed way more than you've cried? Had clarity way more than you've been confused? Had friends way more than you've been alone? Had health way more than you've been sick? Money, even, way more than you've been broke? You are inclined to succeed, and it's way more than a way of looking at life, it's your reality.

Go ahead, want it all. That's what you're here for. After all, you're the one!

As the title implies, this blog is all about your future and your focus. Some of us like to live in the past, in fact a full 76% of us habitually think negative thoughts based on what happened to us in the past. Obviously not a good place to spend a lot of time. For me, the past is an amazing time that took place to teach us what we needed to know at that time. A tool if you will, for us to use in the present moment. We hear a lot about that to. The present moment, the Now. To be blunt, that's all there ever is. The present moment is all that ever exists. The past is over and the future hasn't happened yet. Except for in our minds. 

In our minds we can make the past and/or future seem real. We hang on to old beliefs and stories about us and others that are no longer, or perhaps were never true. You see, the human mind has this unique ability to be able to convince itself about pretty much anything, which can make illusions seem real. In fact, we are doing this everyday. Handy when we try to rationalize events, but for the most part is just used to mask who we really are or what's really going on here. 

But today's topic is the future. Why do I want to talk about the future when I just said the Now is all there ever is? Because soon all these succession of Now's become our future. So we need to plan for the future if we want to change, grow and live an incredible Now moment in the future. I'm a firm believer in having long term plans. Not all of those plans will work out, but it gives us direction. Pretend you are standing on a beach and you are looking out over the water and you see the horizon. That's the place where the sky seems to touch the water. You notice a speed boat on the shore so you jump in and race towards the horizon. But no matter how far or fast you go you can never get there. Think of the horizon as your long term, perhaps 25 year future. You can't get there yet because you need to go through everything else first, but it sure is nice to see it and then plan on how you will arrive. It's important because that's where we will spend the rest of our lives.  So now you must plan. That's where your Future Focus comes in.

Your Future Focus is the ability to see things as we would like them to be - not as they are. To clarify our Future Focus we must break down our over whelming long-term goals onto simple, achievable short-term objectives. 1,3 maybe 5 year objectives. Here's an example of what I do. There are 7 areas of my life that I break things down into:

1. Health, physical, energy
2. Professional fulfillment
3. Money , finances
4. Relationships with family, friends
5. Intimate relationship
6. Emotional, spiritual
7. Recreation, fun , free time

Now I look at each area of my life independently and write down what I would like to see in each area for the next year. For example, in area #1 I might write, "I am health conscious. I eat only nutritious foods, work out 3 times per week and go to bed at a decent time to ensure I get the rest I need. " And so it starts. Go through all 7 areas of your life and write down what you would like to do to become the person you need to be if you are to reach your goals. Don't be afraid to be specific.

Planning like this will help you focus on what you need to do to accomplish your short term goals, which of course will help you meet those long term goals. When our thoughts surround the circumstances of our life which we dislike, we will not feel empowered, but dis-empowered. When we focus our thoughts on what we intend to create, this empowers us, motivates us and moves us in the direction of our dreams. 


This topic, and many more, will be part of a video series I will be releasing in the new year to really help you make the changes you want in order to live the life of your dreams.


Please feel free to leave your comments below. Take what resonates and leave the rest.


Remember, "You're the one!"  
 

People often want to know how to support their energy in relationships. The fear is that what we want won't be what our partner or friends want. There's a fear that trusting ourselves means hurting someone else. I don't believe the energy of the universe could ever move us to hurt ourselves or others. People may appear hurt momentarily, but if you're really trusting and following the energy, your actions will actually empower others.

If you want to have sex and your partner doesn't, (or vice versa) for example, support and express the feelings you have. Then your partner can respond and you can each keep moving to a deeper level of communication. It may be that you and your partner need to talk, there might be some suppressed anger or hurt. Keep supporting and expressing how you feel; this allows the energy to move freely.

Be open to experiencing a different form of sexuality than usual. The energy may lead to simply sitting together, lying together,holding each other, massaging one another, or something else that you may not usually do, but could be satisfying in and of itself. Be true to your feelings and the right actions will emerge.

A deadness occurs in relationships when people are no longer willing to tell each other how they feel. When people first fall in love they're willing to do this because they're still getting to know each other and dependency has not set in yet. As soon as it does, however, people often stop sharing their true feelings out of fear of loss. "Who would I be if i did not have this person in my life?" They seem to be saying. You would still be you, perhaps alone, but still you. Without the dependency you may be able to think things through a little clearer and then act upon your feelings.

Passion is not something that just disappears. It leaves us when we are no longer open to our feelings, when we're willing to lose ourselves to keep someone else. Some thing you should never do. To experience passion, we must first be true to ourselves and then honest with others. Passion in a partnership is true intimacy with each other. As you become more of an open channel for your feelings, you'll become an open channel for the passion and joy that can flow through you.

Have you experienced this kind of pain or joy? Feel free to share your experiences below in the blog or just leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you. As always, keep what resonates with you and leave the rest.

P.S. Remember," You're the one!"

I think most of us can all safely say that we acknowledge some kind of higher power in the universe.  But that soon begs the question, "How can we contact or gain access to this power?" After all, if there is a superior wisdom or deeper knowledge out there we should be able to receive valuable guidance in how to live in this confusing world, right?. I started thinking of this more and more a few years ago. I since have discovered that the knowingness that resides in each of us can be accessed through our intuition. In the western world, we have learned to worship our rational and logical aspect of our being and to dismiss and deny our intuition. However we have no problem acknowledging that animals can understand things intuitively. We call this instinct. But it's a mystery that defies logical explanation, so we shrug it off as something our superior, rational minds don't need.

Generally, less technically developed societies approach life with a deep awareness of, and respect for the intuitive element of existence. Their lives are guided by a strong sense of connection with the creative force. Our rational mind is like a computer, it processes the input it receives and calculates logical conclusions based on this information. Problem is our rational mind is finite and can only operate on the basis of the direct experience each of us has had in this lifetime.

The intuitive mind, on the other hand, seems to have access to an infinite supply of information. It seems to be able to tap into a deep database of information, the universal mind. A mind that is made up of all the knowledge of all the lives you and everyone else has ever lived. Though these divine messages come to us only a bit at a time, if we learn to tune-in our frequency to these messages, we will find that often times the course of action we need to take in our lives will be revealed to us.

Just a few short weeks ago my wife and I were walking our dog "Mocha" along our roadway, which doesn't see much traffic so he was off leash. As usual he was running ahead or lagging behind and then running ahead again. He feels this is great fun, zooming past us! Anyway, as we were walking along I started to get this feeling of something wrong and then a quick vision in my mind of a car coming around a corner and hitting Mocha. It took me a minute to process this and when I looked ahead I could see we were coming to one of the tight corners in our road up ahead. Mocha had run ahead again and was right at the inside of the corner sniffing grass, a spot where an oncoming car would never see him until it was too late. I heard a rumbling and quickly called to the dog and fortunately he listened well and I put him on his leash, just as the rumbling came around the corner in the form of a pick-up truck. I'm not sure he would have gotten hit, but the odds are high he would have. A bit of divine guidance? You bet. 

We all have these feelings sometimes, I'm certainly far from special, but how many of us listen to them? If I had not trained myself to begin listening to these messages and then act on them, I may not have Mocha laying beside me now. Point is, by tuning into the intuition we are all receiving and allowing it to become the guiding force in our lives we allow the universe or diving mind to conduct the "orchestra" if you will. We know we can make music with our rational mind, but by allowing the universe to guide us, in conjunction with our minds, the simple song our minds produce will become a "symphony."

I don't fully understand how intuition functions in such an amazing way, but I find the more I trust and follow this inner "voice", the easier, fuller and more exciting my life becomes.

Tell me how you might be able to put your intuition to use or of some of the experiences you have had in the comments section. I'd love to hear from you!

P.S. Remember, You're the one!