- Brian Koslow

The partner who hogs the covers every night, because he/she is not out with someone else.

The child who is not cleaning his room, but Is watching TV, because that means he Is at home and not on the streets.

For the taxes that I pay,because it means that I am employed.

For the mess to clean after a party,because it means that I have been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me work, because it means I am in the sunshine.

For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home.

For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because It means I am capable of walking and that I have been blessed with transportation.

For my huge heating/cooling bill, because it means I am warm/refreshed.

For the lady behind me in church that sings off key, because it means that I can hear.

For the pile of laundry and Ironing, because it means I have clothes to wear.

For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard.

For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means I am alive.

And finally…

For too much e-Mail, because it means I have friends who are thinking of me.

Thomas Dreier

Epicurus

So many people are full of envy and jealousy… even though they know that their thoughts and feelings are creating the reality that they live.  The first step to manifesting is learning to feel good about what you already have.  Then you extend that good feeling to that which you want to have and feel about it as if you already have it also.

Soon enough you find yourself in possession of things you used to wish for.

Best Wishes,

John Derrick

-Shirley Chisholm ]]> http://johnderrick.com/miscellaneous/feels-good/being-in-service-of-others/feed/ 0 http://johnderrick.com/self_improvement/healthy-lifestyle/healthly-tips/the-key-to-peace/ http://johnderrick.com/self_improvement/healthy-lifestyle/healthly-tips/the-key-to-peace/#comments Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:53:34 +0000 John Derrick http://johnderrick.com/self_improvement/healthly-tips/the-key-to-peace/ The key to peace came to me early this morning while I was in a meditative state. It was a realization that summed up the key to a peaceful existence.

“The key to peace, is to realize there is no right or wrong on matters of opinion.” John Derrick, 2008

It may not sound like much at first glance, but when you recognize that everything is based on opinion, this message takes on a deeper meaning. How many lives have been lost because of differences of opinions? How many wars? How much suffering?

Most of us are nothing more than a walking, talking collector of opinions. Some we came up with on our own, but most of them were given to us by others. Opinions are dished out like facts from our parents and teachers at an early age. You get them from your church, newspaper, coworkers and local community. The television is teaching an entire generation their “facts”, all the while the audience is unaware of the nature of opinions.

What is a fact?
A fact would have to stand the test of time! When we look back at the generations in our past, it is easy for us to laugh about their facts because our facts tell us that they had everything wrong. Doesn’t it stand to reason that future generations will look back at us laughing at how we had it all wrong?

Facts can not change… and since the facts are always changing, it seems pretty obvious that the facts of today are nothing more than the opinion that is most agreed upon.

ALL OPINION:
Who’s religion is correct
Which political party is correct
What is good and what is bad
Legal and illegal is nothing more than the opinion of the prevailing government

Even definitions which appear to be fact are always changing. What is big today will not be big tomorrow… so was it ever big to begin with? What looks good today may not look good in the years to come. (Look at haircuts from the 70′s or 80′s). Everything that was fast in 1970 is considered slow today.

So someone may point out that a specific measurement of objects will always be a fact. If a ball is 10 inches in diameter today, it will always be 10 inches in diameter. No, even that is not true. The ball will deflate someday. Eventually it will decompose into nothing that resembles a ball. What will it measure then? How will you measure it?

You see, everything here in this physical universe is temporary. Your house, dog, cat, car, spouse, children and even your own body is temporary. Physical matter is always changing so there really are no facts, only temporary opinions that masquerade as facts.

Let’s create a hypothetical situation where scientists have created a type of material that will never rust or decompose and it will last forever. Not possible I know, but let’s pretend. They create a 10 inch diameter ball out of this material. Now you have a fact right? Maybe, but it’s not the size of the ball that brings about the suffering.

It’s the opinion that people hold about the ball that will cause suffering.

Some will think the ball is the greatest achievement of mankind and a triumphant accomplishment over nature.

Others will say that is represents all that is evil about mankind and that this new material will be a permanent scar on the planet… just one more poof of our polluting nature.

Still others will claim that man never made the ball at all and that God created the ball in seven days…. and only his chosen people are worthy to hold the ball.

People fight… kill… and die for their opinions…. because they believe they are facts.

If you want peace in your life, the best place to start is to realize that everything you think you know is just your opinion. Odds are you were probably given it from someone else.

Everything is temporary. You make the temporary nature of your life more painful and shorter in duration by running around fervently arguing your opinions to somebody who is every bit as temporary as yourself.

If everyone suddenly woke up and realized this, the vast majority of human suffering would end.

Even in 1760 Thomas Jefferson knew that mental attitude is everything. Two people can appear to do the same thing everyday, and yet one of them be hugely successful while the other eventually fails. Outwardly they may appear the same and appear to do the same things, but the difference is what is going on inside of them.

I was talking to someone this weekend whom I introduced to law of attraction, or positive mind power, or whatever label you want to put on it. She had been hopeful and optimistic for a couple of weeks, but when I spoke with her on the phone this Sunday, everything that came out of her mouth was negative and she had no idea.

She was telling me she didn’t have enough money and weather on the west coast was terrible and they froze at a dog show and their dog didn’t win…. and so it went on. I let her speak without interruption to see if she would catch herself at any time. She never did. I may speak to her next week sometime and who knows who she will be. She may be thinking positively, or she may have reverted to her comfort zone of negativity.

I find this common with people who are new to positive thinking. You can’t be positive for a day or a week and expect your whole life to change. It’s a life commitment.

You may think that you will have to watch your thoughts everyday for the rest of your life, and while that is true, I do have some good news.

The good news is this: Anything you do consistently for 2 months, becomes a habit. We all know how hard habits are to break, but we often only think of bad habits. Good habits can be just as hard to break. A habit is just your default mode.

If you smoke a cigarette consistently, every hour of every day, after two months you will have the habit of smoking. Now if you have ever quit smoking, as I did nearly 8 years ago, you know the first few weeks can be extremely hard. But, if you do not smoke a single cigarette consistently, every hour of every day, after two months you will have the habit of not being a smoker. A habit is simply a natural state.

So, if you work hard at being positive, for just 2 months, consistantly every hour of every day, you will develop the habit of thinking positively.

Instead of reacting to habits that form without your intention, why not actively create them for yourself?!

“We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”
Aristotle

All of us are a result of what we have repeatedly done. What you thought, felt, and how you acted in your past has created who you are today.

If you sit on the coach watching TV eating chips everyday, you are creating a future coach potato. If you ride a bicycle everyday, you are creating a future bicyclist.

You can use this simple formula to get anything you desire.

Set some time aside and write out a list of everything that you want. Yes, I mean everything. If you want to be thin, put it on your list. If you want money, put it on your list. If you want a life partner, put it on your list. There are no right or wrong answers here, if you want a new car, house or even amazing sex, it doesn’t matter. No one is going to judge you. Be honest with yourself and make a list of everything you want, big and small.

Now that you have your list, take a long hard look over this list and decide which one of the things on your list is the thing you want the most. This will usually be the thing which excites you the most.

Focus on possessing that which you want the most everyday of your life. Repeatedly think about having it and feel as if you already have accomplished it. Do this repeatedly day in and day out. Keep your eyes open for opportunities to claim your prize, and know that it is on the way to you.

Have You Hung Up Any Motivational Posters Yet?

If you want to be thin, then you have to feel thin repeatedly. Think and feel thin everyday. Act like a thin person, be active and eat in a manner that will make you thin. Do this repeatedly, and you can not fail. You will be thin. If you eat some chocolate cake, don’t punish yoruself or feel guilty, but rather feel thin. Thin people eat chocolate cake on occasion also. Think and feel thin, and act thin, and you will become thin. Peroid.

If you want to be debt free, then stop thinking about debt. Think about what you want, not what you don’t want. Don’t say you want to be debt free because that is still thinking about debt. Instead, say you want to have $10,000 in your bank account, or whatever amount feels comfortable to you. Think and visualize having $10,000 in your bank account. Feel what it is like to have that much money. Believe you already have it and be grateful for it. Watch for an opportunity to come knocking, because it certainly will and you want to be ready for it. You can not fail, you can only quit. If you repeatedly think, feel, visualize and act on opportunity, you will have $10,000 in bank, be assured.

If you want to be a world class athlete, you need to begin thinking, feeling and acting like a world class athlete. You will train your body repeatedly to perform in your chosen field. You will think about winning daily. You will feel what it’s like to out perform your competitors. In short, you will repeatedly think, feel and act like a world class athlete. Do this repeatedly and you can not fail. You can only quit short of success.

This formula will allow you to achieve any goal you can set for yourself. Repetition is learning. If you think, feel and act a certain way over and over, it will become a habit. The future you is shaped by today’s habits.

Be sure to try out this Visualization Software.

Most people quit because they are impatient. You are who you are today, because of yesterdays thoughts, feelings and actions. End of story.

2) Abundance: Wayne Dyer Quotes
Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.

3) Belief: Wayne Dyer Quotes
Within you is the divine capacity to manifest and attract all that you need or desire.

4) Action: Wayne Dyer Quotes
Go for it now. The future is promised to no one.

5) Ambition: Wayne Dyer Quotes
Heaven on Earth is a choice you must make, not a place we must find.

6) Expectation: Wayne Dyer Quotes
I am realistic – I expect miracles.

7) Control: Wayne Dyer Quotes
If you’re always in a hurry, always trying to get ahead of the other guy, or someone else’s performance is what motivates you, then that person is in control of you.

8 ) Happiness: Wayne Dyer Quotes
You have everything you need for complete peace and total happiness right now.

9) Love: Wayne Dyer Quotes
Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you.

10) Enthusiasm: Wayne Dyer Quotes
Love what you do. Do what you love.

11) Attitude: Wayne Dyer Quotes
The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind.

12) Commitment: Wayne Dyer Quotes
There’s no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love. There is only a scarcity of resolve to make it happen.

13) Character: Wayne Dyer Quotes
When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.

14) Character: Wayne Dyer Quotes
Circumstances do not make a man, they reveal him.

15) Health: Wayne Dyer Quotes
You can set yourself up to be sick, or you can choose to stay well.

16) Self Esteem: Wayne Dyer Quotes
You cannot be lonely if you like the person you’re alone with.

17) Excellence: Wayne Dyer Quotes
It’s never crowded along the extra mile.

18) Character: Wayne Dyer Quotes
Your reputation is in the hands of others. That’s what a reputation is. You can’t control that. The only thing you can control is your character.