Learning this is way hard.

To learn to let other people be right.

Or wrong.

Or whatever.

Forcing my kids to do things

that they don't really want to.

I know what's best

But they don't.

Trying to go against something,

anything actually makes you move into something that belongs to it.

It looks opposite, but it's not.

Always efforting to change the world or yourself,

it's hard to see your own center.

When I try to understand, things elude me.

When I try to release, I grasp even harder.

It's like a pendulum,

moving back and forth with unheard of force,

a giant wave hitting me hard over my head when I've finally relaxed.

The measure of the swing to the left

equals the measure of the swing to the right.

Everything has a rhythm;

the reason why opposites meet.

There is action and reaction.

Everything flowing in and out,

they rise and they fall.

So, I guess I have to stop creating opposite poles,

because all opposites are related.

Both poles are essentially the same.

Chasing after stuff, after something, after someone.

It's the chasing that's the problem here.

You're never satisfied,

even once you've attained what you were chasing after.

We love the peaks and hate the valleys,

but the presence of one always includes the presence of the other.

So how do I deal with this?

One technique is to become an observer.

A good vision is to see whatever is happening like a show or a movie.

You're watching the drama, but you're not in it.

"All the world is a stage."

Another technique is to create the feeling of two extremes within you.

With practice, you'll become a master at it.

But it does take practice, and I am no master, yet.

Another technique I've learned to some extent

is to stop judging everything and everyone.

The idea is that If you lighten up on others,

you'll lighten up on yourself, too.

Sounds good to me.

Tags: Letting_Other_People_Be_Rightprinciple_of_rhythm Opposites_attract stop_judging

Seeing pictures of the fruits of someone else's successes sometimes makes us

acutely aware of the situations and things that are not working very well

in our own lives.  This is normally on a purely material level.

While some people  might have achieved material and professional goals

long before you have,  they, on the other hand,  may have spent years

accumulating money and building businesses and may not have achieved

the personal and spiritual growth and goals that you have,

like having children and developing close relationships with them

and learning to take responsibility in personal relationships,

including very close friendships, and developing your own inner self.

If you have achieved any of these personal goals,

please know that these accomplishments

and personal choices  in your life have an enormous value,

and affect all the people you come into contact with,

because you are spreading your harmony

and your happiness to everyone you meet.

While money is a very valuable tool,  it is an illusion

that it will bring you more happiness,  more time, more togetherness, more friends, more fun.

Because there is no one right way to evolve, or pursue your soul's path.

And it is up to you to choose whatever is best for you.

In society, there is so much value placed on having money

and making money, and the illusion that this is the Spring well

from which all things come forth.

But Love is the true Spring well and is as abundant as the air you breathe.

Having more time, more friends, deeper friendships, connecting with your kids, having children,

having love relationships, a better marriage - none of these are dependent on having money,

unless we place that value on them in our own minds.

Sometimes we go into relationships, both personal and in business,

that are not in alignment with who we truly are, and no amount of money

or material success will change that.

Eating well and being able to spend quality time

with your loved ones or on your own

is not dependent on having or making a lot of money.

We have a tendency to give away our power

to those who are making lots of money

when we have deluded ourselves into thinking

that this is the secret of the Universe.

This is not to say that having and making money

and coming into your power is a bad thing,  or that it is a good thing.

Or that we should not own up to our commitments.

Since everything is energy, I would not say it is "good" or "bad".

If any area of your life is not what you want it to be,

then one of your beliefs in that area needs to be changed.

We can see our minds as a map, and when we feel this way

we can get a new map, or revise the old one.

We help others by achieving more peace and happiness in our own thoughts.

And remember, that while the material things that we desire are a very good indication of what our

life path is at the present time, it is always of equal or greater value to create things and situations

that will benefit us and others even after our time has passed.

Creating things and relationships that you can take with you have preference over creating inanimate objects

or relationships based on money.

Also, keep in mind that our life path changes from time to time and that we need to change with it.

Here following is a practice that you can follow to help change your thoughts:

List now the main things you think about (money, car, gas, home, clothes, food, career, friends, family, health),

and rate how positively you feel about these things on a scale of one to ten: One being negative and ten being positive.

Then rate them - how high and positive do your thoughts look? 

Take one area that you rated very lowly and create a movie in your mind of how you would like that area to be.

Be very descriptive and you can even make a video of it, using free pictures on the Internet.

Contact me if you want to learn how to do this for free.  And i would love to hear any feedback from you or answer any questions.

Angela Wickenberg

Tags: Evolving_thoughts3-steps_to_change_thoughts change_your_thoughts making_money make_money

"Work In Progress",

That's the sign on my door.

Sending loving energy into my past,

and paying attention to the pictures I send to others;

Are they holding me back,

or helping me rise higher?

What images do others have of me?

And do the pictures I have of them

help them to achieve a better life?

We often accept the pictures

that others have of us without question,

and not only accept them

but act them out.

I realized

I had been living other people's scripts for me,

rather than writing my own;

Obsessive thoughts and feelings

keyed into me emotionally,

flashing negative pictures over and over again.

I now free myself

from deceptive situations

and release creative energy

to produce a true picture of things

as they really are,

helping me to create

what I want in physical reality.

One blind spot

has been to be too aware of myself,

existing too much

on the center of the stage of my own life,

which blocked me from sensing others' needs

and seeing what I could do to serve and assist them.

I am a "Work In Progress",

never finished, and ever willing to change.

So I am sending new images of myself

as pictures are easier to pick up than words,

making every contact I have throughout the day

a healing one

Because we cannot become more sensitive to energy

until we can handle it in a healing way;

When we can work with the energy we sense

in a way that is healing for ourselves and others,

the more we can sense

and know the energy around us.

I have, thus, decided

to live my life from this moment onwards

as if I only had a few months to live,

releasing internal conflicts

by speaking and acting from a level of honesty and integrity

that re-enforces my self-respect.

Deciding to live a life

that brings me and those around me

joy and laughter

and wonderful memories.

Visualizing balance in my life

and knowing that this balance

is what I want,

growing, enlarging and expanding

the scope of my world.

Tags: WorkIn Progress" self-image self-images self-respect healing_ourselves_and_others greater_service serving_others

Randy Pausch - a brilliant professor at Carnegie Mellon University - who was dying from pancreatic cancer had only a few months to live. And he was having fun doing what he did best. Teaching.

He died yesterday.

I first saw the 11 minute snippet on Oprah where he talked about how we should live our lives.

- Live properly and the dreams will find you -Work and play well with others

• Tell the truth

• Apologize

• Have patience

- Show gratitude -Don't complain -work harder -Never underestimate the importance of having fun. I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day because there's no other way to play it.

-Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. -No one is pure evil. Find the best in everybody. Wait long enough and people will surprise and impress you.

-Brick walls are there for a reason. They are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop people who don't want it badly enough.

-It is not about achieving your dreams but living your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you.

-We can't change the cards we're dealt, just how we play the hand. If I'm not as depressed as you think I should be, I'm sorry to disappoint you.

You can watch Randy's video here:

http://strategycalls.com/video/video/show?id=2156627%3AVideo%3A442

 

/Angela

I always lead with my heart.

It's true.

I react to everything on an emotional level;

My feelings dominate my decisions.

I can choose to retard my own growth

by giving in to feelings of self-pity

or undue sentiment.

On the other hand,

when I allow intelligence to curb sentimentality

and sharpen my intuitive faculties,

I am unerring in my instinctive judgments.

My emotions

can raise me to singular heights of inspiration and achievement,

but can also plunge me into the depths of degradation and despair.

Much pain has been avoided

when I leaned to curb my possessiveness and emotional dependency.

I am strong-willed and have a desire for accomplishment;

I am a "mover and shaker" in the world,

but not at any cost.

I take charge and get things done

through the power of my emotional commitment.

I aggressively work to accomplish goals

inspired by my own feelings

and also appeal to the emotions of others.

But some childhood shyness still haunts me;

It becomes a trap at times,

especially in some social environments;

still in need of approval and reassurance sometimes,

and requiring tangible proof

before taking on the responsibility of emotional commitment.

I suppose this is a part of me that still needs growing up.

It became important to release the past

in order to move on with the rest of my life.

To learn to move away from negative bouts of depression,

and difficulty accepting life as it is,

and being a prisoner of my own prejudices.

This was possible through deep self-analysis

and deciding on having new thinking patterns.

I have kept many of my ideas and thoughts to myself,

which is often based on instinct or intuition

as well as logic and reasoning.

I have a photographic memory

and a fabulous imagination and an investigative mind.

So things that are hidden have had a special attraction to me.

This is also a kind of trap,

becoming too curious about things that I should have left entirely alone.

Like dejavu,

committing the same error in judgment over and over again.

They say that "curiosity killed the cat";

luckily, this cat has more than nine lives.

Demonstration of this tendency in me could be witnessed at age two,

when I was so curious about an electric mangle that I got caught in it,

giving me third degree burns and scarring me for the rest of my life.

Although I receive many opportunities,

I have learned to create my own opportunities,

when I needed to.

I have had to learn to walk the middle ground

and not become emotionally scarred

by disappointments and difficulties.

I had to learn that success is not only possible,

but also probable.

A tendency to over analyze,

I have had the unfortunate habit

of outsmarting myself on many occasions.

Great traits like keen analytical ability and perceptiveness

can sometimes get in the way.

And take on the form of procrastination.

Looking for hidden motives,

or continually thinking there may be something beyond the obvious

is often simply a waste of time.

Dealing with thoughts and ideas

rather than feelings and attitudes

when direct application is needed.

I feel this is responsible for my technophobic tendencies,

despite the fact that I love machines

like computers, and cell phones and cars.

But I am a good driver, anyway.

My thoughts and ideas flow with amazing rapidity

but I often lack concentration.

The slightest distraction can sometimes knock out my line of thinking

and send me off entirely new directions.

I have an originality of thought

and persuasive powers of articulation,

but they are like blown away with the wind

when I become nervous and self-conscious.

But I always have a great sense of humor,

no matter what.

I have an active, alert and intelligent mind

but need to develop

a more careful attitude, better organization and better judgment.

A tendency to take things for granted,

I have not developed my intuition and used my imagination,

or developed obvious abilities for sports and dance,

so my artistic gifts have become wasted

and my psychic sensitivities never became fully developed.

Laziness and overindulgence may have been

my greatest enemies in the past.

But it's not too late.

I am a social flirt.

I derive great pleasure from intellectual and social relationships

in a great variety

with people from different backgrounds and experiences than my own.

I guess I am a "diamond in the rough", though,

due to my childhood shyness,

but I tend to form mutually receptive relationships

that become so close as to be almost psychic.

I am inspired and inspiring.

My creative abilities and instinctive reactions

enable me to turn abstract concepts into reality.

My greatest hinder in the past

has been my lack of confidence.

I have the physical energy and mental drive

but have wasted time and money on projects

that never got completed

due to my lack of belief

in my ability to get it done.

 

Tags: Key_To_Personal_PowerKnowing_Myself Emotions

There are many aspects to a person's personality.

We have many different characteristics,

including strengths and weaknesses,

that usually harmonize nicely,

but sometimes they can oppose each other.

Sometimes we have a tendency to be forgiving,

and at other times we might have a tendency to hold a grudge.

The many facets of our personalities are full of seeming conflicts.

It may help to regard the more negative aspects of how you respond when under stress.

Your positive sides show you how you might respond to a challenging situation,

if you allow yourself to take a deep breath, gather your thoughts,

and consciously decide how you want to respond.

What I mean is that we do have the freedom

and the power to choose how to respond

and what aspect of our personality to emphasize.

We need to learn to be all parts of ourselves,

to understand ourselves fully and consciously.

When you know and understand yourself,

you are well on your way to taking command of your life

and attaining true Happiness, Success and Power.

Welcome to your new destiny of Money, Love, Health and Joy.

Tags: Personal_Powerfreedom_to_choose emotional_responses control_emotions

If I could turn back the hands of Time,

And make other choices, you ask?

The Answer is "Yes, I would".

We all want to go "Back To The Future",

And change how things turned out.

But life does not go backward; nor does it dwell on the past.

Regret is just cloudy thinking.

But if it comforts us to regret, then that's o.k. too.

Still, we can go back and scrub our memories clean

From unwanted negativities,

And see that, in the past,

We did the best we knew how at the time.

But fear keeps us from seeking,

And of having fond memories;

These are the places within us,

In most need of Love,

Which brings beauty to everything and everyone.

We fear offending some unseen Master,

But if there is nothing to defend, life becomes easier,

Because we do not have to pretend to be anything we are not,

And learn to trust

Who we are right now.

Desires, hopes and dreams fade away,

making space for stillness and acceptance

Of what is.

Angela Wickenberg

Tags: Past_regretsAwareness Timing Regrets Fear Love Trust

I went to the outdoor movies last night. The movie can't start until it gets dark here in the city where I live just two hours South of Stockholm, at 10.40 PM.  I would guess that about 400 people were out there; both young and old alike. Not necessarily for the movie itself, but because it's a sort of "happening" - outdoor movies; a place to meet your friends and even new people.  The weather was great, but they show movies outdoors even in the pouring rain! You sit there for about 45 minutes in your portable beach chair and start talking with your new "neighbors" and watch people, eat popcorn and cotton candy. Fun!

The movie, Two Days In Paris, is a fable of modern day relationships which explores our insecurities and vulnerabilities in witty dialog that is very funny with it's satire and sarcasm. Cultural prejudices and hysterical behavior look neurotic and made me feel a tickling laugh all through the movie. The character, Marion, strips her soul bare in this portrayal of a modern relationship with two 35 year old yuppies who still have not settled down and matured.  Having lived in a foreign country and been married to someone of an entirely different culture, I can appreciate the culture clash the couple experienced.  I thought the film was accurate and hilarious, and the acting didn't seem like acting at all.  The relationship issues were relevant and believable, even for people from the same country but of different cultural backgrounds.

Will have to look for more movies by the same writer, director, producer and star of the film, Julie Delpy. Her real-life parents played… her parents! The boyfriend was played by Adam Goldberg, who starts off like a jerk, but in the end, I feel sympathy for the character; he discovers that we can never really know anyone else before we know ourselves.  So true. This comes in the end like a flash of lightning, giving him a glimpse of the path ahead. But the glimpse of this is very precious; at first they break up and there are tears and serious discussion, even insults. However, this couple knows that they love each other; they know there is a possibility. Who knows if it will last? The narration at the end wants us to think so, but so much anxiety in a relationship is bound to be rocky.  I loved the movie, but their relationship, if they continue along the same path, the prospects do not seem promising.  Still, I enjoyed it, as well as the outing, and I would see the movie again.

Angela Wickenberg

Tags: Exporing_Relationships"Two_Days_In_Paris" Angela_Wickenberg

I have been trying to increase my productivity and do things that I find really hard… like updating my Wordpress blogs into an entirely different theme.  But I have failed miserably. My site at http://e-bizsecretsexposed.com is now down.  Who knows when somebody (support) will be able to help me?  It can go days. So now I want  to comfort myself.

Normally, I would eat something really tasty.  Like a chocolate bar, or a sticky chocolate cake, or maybe steal some of the children's candy, but I have changed my diet and so I have to find other ways of comforting myself.

My favorite quote comes to mind:

"You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves." –Mary Oliver

Think I'll go to the gym and take a sauna.

Tags: wordpressproductivity self-comfort failure