Only the Shadow knows for sure!
I had the pleasure of listening to my mentor Debbie Ford on www.hayhouseradio.com/. Of course, she was talking about the subject that has given her so much success; Shadow work. Our shadow, as I too have discussed, are those qualities or traits that we possess, but would rather not. Those nasty bits that we push to the way back of our mind and then deny. These are the shame spreaders – the snob, the bitch, the bully, the know-it-all, the martyr, and so many more.

Basically, we as humans have the ability to possess all these traits and their polar opposites. As adults we’ve been exposed to most of them, and have made a judgment on them one way or another. Do we allow them to influence who we want the world to see, or do we deny that part of our self? If we shove snob in the shadow bag, then we own humble as our character, if we put bitch in the shadow bag than we own nice (some people shove nice in the bag and keep bitch).

I hate to tell you folks, but as Debbie says; “God didn’t give you any spare parts.” There’s no use denying our shadow. Worse, it’s counter productive because every quality brings a gift to you in some way. If you are remodeling your house, and you are behind schedule, over budget and the workers arrive late, take long lunches and leave early, don’t you see how “bitch” could be a blessing? If you’ve got someone pulling for your attention, but they are a distraction to your plans and goal to go off, and to do things or pay them attention at this time would be a huge mistake - don’t you see how “snob” could be your savior? Not only this, but when we continue to deny our shadow, those qualities will not sleep forever or ever go away. They will raise their ugly head when you least expect it, and you'll know the Mr. Hyde within you.

If you’re thinking “oh, I don’t have any denied shadows”, then think again. "The only time you don’t have a shadow, is when you are standing in the darkness." (R. Bly) Everyone has a shadow, but it’s not just dark characteristics there. As I said, 'nice' could be part of your 'light' shadow.

I could write a book on the shadow and what it all means. In fact Debbie Ford has written several excellent books on the subject (available at my website).

When the famous Psychologist, Carl Jung first coined the term the shadow, in psychological circles, he said; “Would you rather be good or would you rather be whole”. He himself, of course, chose whole.

"My God, when you see your beauty, you’ll be the idol of yourself." (Rumi)

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

Whistle while you work
Mood:  happy
Topic: Thought of the Day
You like to be happy right? If you had the choice you’d be laughing and dancing every single day. I think most of us are like that – we’d give almost anything in order to be happy. Of course when you think of it in these terms, that is exactly how it is. You do have the choice to be happy, and you do have to give in order to be happy.

There is so many people out there however, that live in the perspective of, “well – if it happens, I’ll be pleasantly surprised” Murphy’s Law has nothing on these people. They will tell you, that because they live their life like this, they are not hurt very often. That very well may be true, but they are also not very happy people generally.

Make a commitment to what you love – make the choice to be happy. You’ll be surprised how much you will attract to yourself that will only add to your happiness if you start with a premise of happiness. If you live in fear of hurt and pain then you live in fear. Fear is constrictive and closed off – you’ll never be happy if you have fear. Is there a chance you’ll be hurt? Yes, of course there is – but it’s only a chance. There is also a chance you might be ecstatically happy!

Here’s a difficult experiment for you. Smile and say “hi” to everyone you meet today; especially strangers. You would think this would be easy (and mostly it is), but it’s difficult in some ways because so many people these days seem so wrapped up in their own thoughts that they walk right past you as if they did not even realize you were there; as if you don't exist. These are the invisible people…. Oh, we see them, but they will never be remembered or thought of again. And you wonder why they might not be happy? But within this experiment you will find that your smile and cheer will be returned to you. This energy will grow, and you’ll be amazed at how a simple smile and ‘hi’ can make you feel by the end of the day.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

Are you tone deaf?
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Thought of the Day
Tune yourself to the Universe.

I love the line in the movie August Rush; “[Music] It's all around us. All you have to do is open yourself up. All you have to do... is listen.” Are you listening? How much do you feel that you are lacking?

If you are lacking something – companionship, money, safety… then I suggest that you may not be fully listening. Or you may be listening but are only hearing the tubas. So much of what we experience daily is due to how we are ‘tuned’ into our surroundings. If you are upset at the man driving the BMW that cuts you off on your way to your lousy job, that’s what you are going to have in your life. If however you say to yourself, “I’m going to have a nice peaceful commute today”, the chances of that THAT happening are very good. If you're constantly angry at those that have more than you because you observe how selfish they seem to be with their money and resources, than chances are you will lack the resources you desire, and merely be left with the anger. I was listening to Ester Hicks the other channel Abraham, and he recommend that we have a general point of view of “It will work out; it always does”. Try living with that tone for a while and see how it works for you.

I learned many years ago an old saying that I’ve not really thought about for years; “Life is like playing a piano – you get from it only what you play. If you play Chopsticks, you get Chopsticks. If you play Rocmoninoff, you get Rocmoninoff.

Rock on!

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

Do you wear rose colored glasses?
Mood:  happy
Topic: Thought of the Day
As we get closer to spring and summer, we start buying sunglasses to help filer out the brighter light. Have you given much thought to the other types of filters we wear every day (not just during the summer)?

Some time try this experiment – walk into a nice, natural setting on a bright, warm day and make certain you are wearing your sunglasses. This could be any nice nature park, woods or forest (if you are lucky enough to live near a forest).

As you are wearing your sun glasses, try to appreciate the natural setting for all that its worth. Hear the birds and insects chirping and clicking. Feel the warmth on your skin. If there is a brook or stream of water nearby enjoy the babbling of that stream as it twists back and forth through the park. Relish your surroundings for about 15 minutes – then take off the sunglasses.

You know as well as I there is a world of difference in the beauty you will see once those filters are removed.

How much more beauty do you think you’d see in your life if you take off the filters your ego and mind make you wear through out your day, months and years. How much do you think you are missing? I’d wager quite a lot. Of course we cannot take off all the filters, that’s impossible and if we could we’d probably go crazy – imagine if you suddenly could hear everything around you – the cacophony would be nearly unbearable. But some filters are not needed. How often have we stepped past a homeless person and not noticed them? How often have we rushed past people in despair and not heard their cries for help? How often have we eaten lunch in the arboretum, and not taken the time to smell the roses?!

So when you go out today, try leaving the filters at home.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

Some of the earliest lessons were the best lessons.
Mood:  happy
Topic: Thought of the Day
“Don’t push”, “Be nice”, “Stand up straight”, “Clean up your own mess”, “Play fair”, “Share everything”, “Don’t hit people”, “Say sorry when you hurt someone”, Robert Fulgum wrote the wonderful book, “All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten” and in it he wrote; “The Kindergarten Credo is not kid stuff. It is not simple. It is elemental”. (Fulgum)

As Fulgum points out, if you extrapolate these very simple credos into your adult life you will see the value of them. Not only do we see the value, but we continue to live our lives by what we learned; hopefully. As we extrapolate these we come to understand that at the age of 5 we were trying to be taught some very serious things. We were not told, “If things are kept in order, if you have some order in your life you will better be able to move from one ‘place’ to another will less trouble.” No, instead we were told, “Clean up your own mess”.

"What we learn in kindergarten comes up again and again in our lives as long as we live” (Fulgum) - I couldn’t agree more with these points. So, if you feel like your wheels are spinning, maybe it’s time for you to sit down quietly and get back in touch with your internal child. Maybe he or she knows something you’ve forgotten.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date - no time to say hello, goodbye...
Mood:  happy
Topic: Thought of the Day
Here’s an exercise for you to do today – if you dare!

Be aware, and be focused of everything you do. When we join the ‘adult’ club, most of us sign on to the ‘rat race’ as well. Hurry, hurry, hurry. The White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland has nothing on us! This will definitely be harder for some. Those of us that have a very definite routine can slide through their day on autopilot if everything goes OK. For those this will be difficult. We’re even half way there in driving considering GPS. Our cars are run by computers – GPS is a little computer… one day instead of the GPS talking to you, it’ll be talking directly to the car. Then we’ll be able to safely ‘zone out’ while we’re driving. But I don’t recommend that today (zoning out). No, today just be focused on what you do and be aware of your surroundings. Are you stuck in traffic? What does that traffic look like? What’s the weather like? Are there any trees around? Wildlife? You don’t have to miss out on life just because you stuck in traffic.

You don’t have stop being hurried either. But instead of being hurried, like the White Rabbit – have a purpose to your rushing around. Be single-minded in the things you do today. Rush, but with the single minded purpose to achieve a specific result. You may work rapidly, but not hurriedly. Simple be aware of what you are doing, and be focused about it.

This is not just an exercise to bring you back to this planet – although that is an excellent side benefit. This is actually a good exercise in will power. Like our muscles and minds, our will power needs exercise too; this is one of them. So, if you ever find yourself procrastinating, or not doing what you know you could or should be doing – try this exercise. Complete your daily tasks with single minded purpose, be aware and focused. If you do this enough your will power will become a monument to looked up to.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

What's in your superconscious?
Mood:  happy
Topic: Thought of the Day
I understand that you force yourself to get to the gym every day, or to get out and walk around the block, or you make healthy eating choices; watching your salt and fat intake etc. I understand that you read and keep up with the current events. So, my question is, what have you done for soul lately?

We are all created in the image of God, yes? To me that means we too are a triad - of body, mind and spirit – or soul. And I don’t care how great your body looks, or how smart your mind is – trust me when I tell you, your soul is in charge. How do I know this? Because when it’s time to go, it’s our soul that makes that decision, not the mind or body, and the mind or body cannot hinder the soul on its journey.

So, be nice to your soul. Don’t neglect it. When was the last time you meditated for 30 minutes? When was the last time you prayed? Could you have prayed for a few minutes longer? When was the last time you gave yourself in service to another? All of these things and more is good soul work. Even your daily walk can become your soul work. Instead of hitting the treadmill or a simple walk around the mall or block – try walking out in nature. Like it or not an isolated walk in nature will bring you closer to God then you’ve been in a while.

We need to have balance in our lives. With all the things we do with and for our body and mind, our soul can easily get neglected. When that happens we feel out of balance and like a spinning top out of balance we will ultimately fall over, and like that same top we’ll be spinning out of control – not a pleasant place to be.

Check your balance today – give your soul something to do.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

A new twist on an old saying
Mood:  happy
Topic: Thought of the Day
There are a couple of old sayings that I’d like to talk about today. “What you see is what you get”, and “Knowledge is power”. Both these sayings carry a good deal of truth, but I don’t think they say it all. We must add something to these sayings in order to obtain the greatest amount from them.

Here’s how I would re-write these old sayings; “What you see and do is what you will get”, and then of course, “Knowledge is not power – what you do with your knowledge is power”. We all know that we can sit around and do very little, if anything, and life will still happen around us and to us. We can see a beautiful person across the room, we can know that they are single, but unless we get out of our chair and do something to meet that person, the chances of having that person in our life are pretty slim.

Our life is defined by the infinite number of choices we make. Choice implies doing ‘this’ instead of ‘that’. We can choose to do nothing, but the act of doing nothing, is still an action. “When opportunity knocks, answer it”, is another old saying and very pertinent to this conversation. The Universe moves very quickly and sometimes very subtly through or past our lives. We have to be aware of those things that God is presenting to us, those things that we’ve manifested – and be prepared to act. Yes, of course you will always get a second, third or any number of chances – but that could take a while. It’s always best to grab onto life the first time it comes around.

Action is the most critical part to the “law of attrAction”

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

You can't tell a book by it's cover.
Mood:  happy
Topic: Thought of the Day
Are you questioning what you life’s purpose is? Do you wonder why some people seem to have a calling, but the only calls you get are on the phone? Do you have a hard time, ‘seeing the forest because of the trees’? Well, you certainly are not alone if you feel this way. Most don’t seem to get a calling until much later in life. So often we as young adults (barely out of High School) are asked to make life questions such as what college are you going to and what is your major? Few of these people really know what they want to do.

Well, here’s the truth according to Richard – you don’t have to fret over any of this because it’s all so very simple. We all have the same life purpose. Here it is; “live well – learn all you can so that you may be the best and most loving person you can be” And I don’t just mean be scholarly. I mean learn all you can about yourself. The road to being the best person you can be, to be whole and complete – this IS our purpose. Because we are all so individual – it only appears that we all have our own individual and different purpose, but that is an illusion.

When it comes to your calling – all you really have to do is be aware of yourself. Be aware of what you love. Your strongest love is your calling. All you have to do is figure out a way to manifest your calling in the world. Do you love animals? Veterinarian comes to mind right away. Do you love animals, but hate school, and have never been able to get through chemistry? Well, you could probably pass on the Veterinarian route, but there are a lot of animal shelters and groups that ache for loving volunteers. There are all kinds of different ways to manifest your calling, that special love, into your life.

So if you are having trouble with your purpose and calling, my bet it’s because you are looking outside yourself. The trick is to be quiet and look inside. All your answers are there.  You can't tell a book by its cover, even if that book is you!  READ IT

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

"If I could save time in a bottle..." (J. Croce)
Mood:  happy
Topic: Thought of the Day
Well, spring is almost here – although where I am, it feels like it is already here. The time has come and gone to change the clocks. Here in California, we lost an hour of sleep by ‘springing forward’.

But did you really loose that hour? For some of us it certainly did mess with out internal clocks, but for the most part we still had the same number of hours in our waking day. Unless you are one of those that work the night shift the time change barely impacts you.

But why do people get so wrapped up in the time changes – ‘spring ahead and fall back’. I believe it has to do with the concept of time, and how much it impacts (or rules) a person’s life. In the Native American tradition, they tell us to rise and go to bed with the sun. I believe that every other hour of the day is up for grabs. There are cultures in this world where time is irrelevant, and somehow they are able to find happiness still.

I’m not saying throw away your watches and clocks. No, keeping your appointments on time is a sign of respect and integrity. Setting realistic goals in a realistic timeframe is hugely important. Picking up the kids from school on time is a pretty good idea, but what if they are 15 minutes late – they were ‘talking with the teacher’- which when translated from adolescent usually means; “I was messin’ around”. OK, those are 15 minutes you’ll never get back, but are they so important that we allow ourselves to get flustered and frustrated even angry at times? “Patience is a virtue”.

There are only 3 times that we need to be fully aware of; past, present and future. The past is our history – never forget it and learn from it, else it repeats itself. The future is our dream – our vision for a better tomorrow. Look to it with confidence and knowing, but it is in the ether of our life, so do not spend too much time there. Then of course there is the Present, and what a beautiful word. Unwrap your present with joy every day and relish it as if there were no tomorrow, knowing that it is safe from the ravages of the past – today – right now is special, and it is the ONLY time you have.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard