“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” –Margaret Mead, 1901-1978, Anthropologist, Writer and Speaker

Do you have any idea how much your caring and kindness change the world each and every moment? Do you understand that your joy, as well as your misery, goes into the energy field that we live in and has an effect on the entire planet?

Energy is not local. Many of us have had the experience of picking up the energy of someone we are very close to, even if they were thousands of miles away. You might have had a sense of the moment when someone you loved died. You might have picked up the phone and called a loved one just as they were thinking about you. We live in a universe of energy, and our thoughts, feelings and actions are a part of this energy.

Every life is a miracle and a tragedy, and these undeniable forces will, at times, overwhelm us. So, our first epic struggle is not to drown in the depths of tragedy and not to leave life through the transcendent pull of miracle. Our second noble struggle, which never ends, is to let the lightness of miracle and the groundedness of tragedy braid in our heart, so we can be thoroughly alive and live here now.

According to the Vedic tradition, we are now in what is called Kali Yuga, the age of darkness and ignorance. A time when people further down the path of dishonesty, and virtue is of little value. Liars and hypocrites rise. The human diet is now ‘dirty’, and the environment is now polluted. Supposedly this will last 4,000 years.

However, according to my friend, spiritual leader Roger Gabriel there is another, brighter point of view.

The ego, or the self you imagine yourself to be, has a thousand goals. But are they really yours? And are they your sweetest goals?

A whirlwind Western world worships productivity, as defined by how much we “get done.” But I’d love to see you become “undone” with joy. Because let me assure you of this: Learning how to be unabashedly alive is a very productive goal.

I want you to be free. Freedom doesn’t mean you’ll run away to Istanbul or forget to pay the rent. It’s a remembrance, not a forgetting. It’s remembering who you really are. It’s too easy to lose sight of your nimble, guided self in the everyday tasks and habits, not to mention the self-talk that cripples you, makes you feel behind, even before you’ve sipped your morning coffee.

It’s preconceived ideas about what we “should” be doing that prevent us from listening to our hearts in any given moment. But you can stop this “virtue” in its tracks. Set down the laundry or report, even for a minute. Your deep self wants to talk to you. Do you want to listen?

We don’t always realize what we’re not getting done by “getting things done.”

There is a huge difference between instinct and intuition, and it’s important to differentiate between them, especially right now with so much uncertainly on our planet.

Instinct Is About Survival

Instinct comes partly from the amygdala, which is a small gland at the base of the left-brain. Part of the job of the amygdala is as a survival mechanism responsible for initiating the stress response of fight, flight or freeze. The amygdala is the seat of the wounded self – it stores emotional memories that can get triggered in stressful situations. When instinct kicks in, we are not operating from thought, but from survival needs. For example, a newborn infant, as well as all mammals, will instinctively suckle as part of its survival. Instinct is essential for the survival of any species.

There is a powerful connection between visualization and motivation.

Today, I want to explain how “creating the right pictures in your head” can increase your motivation to achieve anything you can imagine in life.

Visualization

When some people hear the word, “visualization,” think it means sitting around daydreaming. But that’s not all it is.

Visualization is a powerful tool that can help you achieve any goal, such as writing a book, getting a promotion, making more money, paying off your debts, becoming financially independent, taking that dream vacation you want, losing weight, or improving your golf game.

Visualization is the practice of intentionally creating detailed pictures in your mind – both still pictures and movies – of the outcomes you want to achieve.

Visualization is a powerful tool that can help motivate you to achieve any goal — such as writing a book, getting a promotion, making more money, paying off your debts, becoming financially independent, taking that dream vacation you want, losing weight, or improving your golf game.

Visualization helps you achieve your goals for several reasons.

TV, Books, Beach walks and Travel Memories are all the top of my list of how I’ve been keeping myself amused this summer. FYI, none of these activities fall into the category of spiritual or personal growth.

TV – Brian and I have fallen into an early evening routine of watching a couple of hours of TV together. Since we can’t go out to the movies, we have a found some series that are just as exciting. Our favorites are on Netflix. We’ve watched all of the episodes of White Lines, a decadent, sophisticated mystery of drugs, sex, and murder on Ibiza.

Next we watched Money Heist (created by the same producer as White Lines, Alex Pena who’s storytelling chops are spectacular). It’s a thriller of crazy bank robberies in Spain with an eclectic, captivating cast of characters.

I want to talk to you about money. Actually, I want to talk to you about your real bottom line. Because if you’re like most of us, you may be trapped in an equation that doesn’t equate. Yes, money is important. But there are pearls of greater price. Take this little journey with me-- because I want to talk to the common sense of your uncommon maverick heart.

First, let’s just acknowledge: It’s expensive to be unhappy. You have to continuously prop up a life that cannot and will never stand on its own. 

Way back in my lawyer days, I remember rushing back to the office from a therapy session, sixty minutes of honesty with myself, wiping away tears, then slumping back into my zombie existence. I was crawling on thorns to survive my life. Then I had a realization. I make good money. But it costs too much.

I’ve said time and time again that change shows up on the OUTSIDE once we make shifts in our thinking and our alignment on the INSIDE. True transformation happens at a soul-level first before we ever see a glimmer of change in the external world. 

Let’s take energy. Everything in your internal and external world is made up of energy, we know that as a scientific fact. Your body, your intentions, the chair you’re sitting in, the tree outside your window — it’s all energy. At the most basic level, the electrons in your chair and in your body and in your intentions and in the tree are identical. 

If you want to change something in your world, it must first begin as an intention before it can be manifested in the outer world. No intention, no result. It’s like expecting the Uber Eats driver to arrive at your door with your pad thai order without actually picking up the phone or sending a text to order it!