“Earth cannot get away from heaven: let the earth drop downward or rise upward, heaven still penetrates it, imbuing it with strength and making it fruitful, whether it will or no. That is how God treats man…”. Meister Eckhart wrote that and it’s true. You can try to run and hide from God, and what God wants of you, but it’s just not possible. Sometimes it’s difficult to know or understand what it is that we are supposed to be doing, but the joy is that we don’t really have to know.

We chose our life and set it into motion long before we were born. God understands the plan we’ve chosen, and has put everything we need for success and happiness at our doorstep; we just have to open the door.

Why is it so hard then sometimes? It’s because we forgot. We forgot the plan, we forgot who we are and more than anything, we forgot who God is. God is not the old bearded man up in the sky throwing lightening at those that misstep. No, God is the mother/father that lovingly cares for her/his children. We can try to run and hide, but like the heavens and earth, God will not let us escape.

The Universe… God … is beckoning you to open the door and remember.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

Most of us have heard of the story of Icarus and his very talented, engineer father, Daedalus. Daedalus was exiled to Crete, and in order to escape the exile built a pair of wings, for he and his son, from wax and feathers. Before leaving the island he instructed Icarus not to fly too close to the sun or the sea. If you’re not familiar with the story, Icarus became giddy with the freedom of flight, and flying closer and closer to the sun lost his wings and fell to the sea, and his death.

There are just as many interpretations of this myth as there are in the telling of it. Some say it is about how our children need to obey their parents; others talk about how we need to follow the “middle road”, as Icarus was instructed to stay between the sun and the sea spray for his survival.

While these are valuable lessons, I see the story of Icarus as being about awareness. Both Daedalus and Icarus were successful, in the beginning, with the escape from Crete. It was only Icarus however that lost himself in the pleasure of flying who ended up in the drink. I remember (as a child especially) there were times when I was having so much fun I would fail to recognize the time, and come home late to face upset parents. Even in our adult life awareness is a key component to our success. If we can’t see the forest because of the tree in front of us, we will experience disappointment.

David Richo writes about the five “A’s” in his book, “How to Be an Adult in Relationships: The Five Keys to Mindful Loving”. They are: attention, acceptance, appreciation, affection and allowing. These are basic components without which none of us can live a fruitful life. Personally, I would add another “A” to that list: awareness.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

There are some things in this life for which we expend far too much energy. In some cases it’s normal, especially if you have any kind of ego. Since we all have ego (and I am not one of those that says we must learn to surrender our ego) we are going feel anger, resentment and disappointment.

Many of these feelings though are brought about because of our inability to see a different perspective. Of course I understand it’s pretty difficult at times to see a different perspective, but it is never impossible.

One very difficult emotion to master (especially if you are a parent), is worry. But it is worry which is right up there with anger and hate that will eat a hole into your soul. And worry is tricky because some of the time it is our love that makes us worry.

If you want to be a master of your worry than you have to have unfaltering faith in two things; you must have faith by accepting ‘the now’ as perfect, and you have to have faith in God (the Universe, Source, Great Spirit – call it what you want) and know the Supreme Being has it figured out and has provided for your happiness. When we start to have confusion on this subject, it is the confusion that takes over our life.

So, in the infamous words of Alfred E Newman start each day with the affirmation, “What me worry?!” You’ll feel much better.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

What do you want? You’ve probably heard of the law of attraction. Perhaps you grew up in a Buddhist or Christian tradition, and have been taught, “Your mind is everything. You become what you think” (Buddha), or “Ask and you shall receive” (Jesus). We’ve read these things or we’ve grown with these teachings, yet it just doesn’t seem to come true. Oh, it seems to work for other people but not for me.

Well, the truth of it is that it does work for you. You are no better or worse than anyone else. Our lives move very quickly, and the biggest difference between the have and have nots, is knowing what you want and knowing without a shadow of a doubt it has already been given to you.

“WAIT!” you say, “it’s already been given to me? Then why does my life suck?!” Yes, it’s been given to you in the sense that it’s out there for you, you just have to figure out a way to get it. Think about what you want. In all honesty can you say that it does not exist? And please, I’m not talking about the big screen TV, or the new jet sky, or those material things that clutter our lives … I’m talking about those things that will bring you the joy you long for, the passion that seems to be missing in you life. Everything anyone could possible want is already out there. If someone else could have it, there is no reason you can not.

It doesn’t matter if you have faith in God or not; God has faith in you. It’s all out there: love, happiness, joy, passion, relationships – everything. The merry-go-round is very fast, but you have more than one opportunity to grab the brass ring.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

In a world of mass, connected consciousness, I have to take a moment on this Valentine's Day to let you know how grateful I am for all of you. My heart reaches out to your heart, wishing you the best of love and hope. We are all one heart, it's time we started beating that way!

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

“To learn anything you must put aside the safety of your ignorance”, Richard Bach wrote that, and it certainly rings true for me. We’ve all heard the old adage, “Ignorance is bliss”, well that is taking what Richard wrote and putting it into 3 words. Ignorance is bliss, because it gives us a sense of security, safety.

The problem is this is a false sense of security. Ignorance protects us from nothing. The world still streams by no matter how ignorant we may be. The chances of us getting caught up in that stream are still good. It is then that we become overwhelmed.

Ignorance’s primary mode of operandi is denial. That which we deny cannot touch us, or so we feel. In reality that which we deny has it’s bloody hands all over us! I deny the fact that I’m lonely – yet I sit every night at the table by myself eating or drinking myself into oblivion. I deny that I’m depressed, yet I can’t sleep at night worrying about tomorrow. We deny so much of our life in an attempt to keep that part out, to feel safe.

In reality, if we only “put aside the safety of our ignorance”, we may be plunged into the coldest waters of our life, but trust me, it is there that we will learn our greatest lessons.

Don’t be a victim of ignorance and denial. Be a survivor by stepping through it and learning the lessons of life.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

So how are those New Year resolutions going? Have you adhered to them, or now, at the end of January, you’ve pretty much given in. Well, if you've given in don’t beat yourself up too much. If you created your resolutions as goals, the wonderful thing about goals is that they can be modified and updated.

When we modify or update our goals however, it is hugely important that we consider those obstacles that got in our way. Now I know you considered obstacles when developing your plan, as we talked about, but there always seem to be some unforeseen issues that arise. When we update our goals, we can make the modifications to adjust for these new obstacles.

Keep an open and positive mind. We have to learn from our mistakes, otherwise they are just mistakes. And never forget what Richard Bach taught us in Illusions – “…perspective, use it or loose it.” The ‘day-to-day’ can catch up to us very easily, and we can easily become overwhelmed, but if the goal was important enough to write down and plan, then don’t loose that perspective, hang tough. Debbie Ford in her great book, The right questions, reminds us that if we are not going forward then we are ultimately going backwards.

So keep your eyes on the prize, and do as my GPS is constantly reminding me – “recalculating”

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

OK, so here it is – January 1, 2010 – and I want to know what you did (or will do) differently today? I hope you did something differently. Someone once said; “the definition of insanity, is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results.” So, if you’re looking for 2010 to look different, then you’d better be doing something different about it.

And I’m not necessarily talking about your goals either. It’s Friday – casual Friday for many businesses – will you wear a tie? Or a sharp dress? Will you take a lunch time walk? Will you meditate or journal? I challenge you to do something – anything different than your normal routine. I think you’ll be surprised at the results.

In our lives only one thing is constant, and that ironically is ‘change’. Change is the only thing that can truly be counted on. In life we are always looking for the sure thing, yet people shy away from change as if it were a rattlesnake – when in reality change is the only sure thing there is. So if you want to be the master of your own ship, then you must be the instigator of change – and if you don’t like the results? So what?! Change them!

This is 2010, and unless you didn’t get the memo, it is the beginning of a decade of change – jump on board or you might just get left behind.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

“If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh?...” Shakespeare wrote those words, and if you’ll forgive me, I’ll take them out of context (to some degree). When Shylock spoke these words in the Merchant of Venice, he was talking about revenge. Revenge is a dish I just don’t serve and I never recommend it, so I’ll drop that here.

But in a different perspective (and part of what Shylock was saying) is that we are all human. We laugh, cry and yes even bleed; and that blood is red. Let us never forget our humanity, and the humanity of others. In one sense or another we are all connected, and the “least that you do unto your brother, you do unto … [yourself]”.

As we enter into this New Year, and we are thinking of our goals, we have a strong tendency to think of what we want or need. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. What I would like us all to do however is to consistently think of win / win scenarios when considering our goals. If you’re in a situation where you end up with a win / loose situation, and while you might come out on top, with everything you dream of, but you know someone else will clearly loose – then that is a situation that you should back out of. Even at great sacrifice to your goals, a win/loose outcome in reality serves no one.

Even if you seem to win, you will ultimately loose (especially if there is a ‘Shylock’ around - and a pound of flesh is alot to loose).

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

You’ve had a chance to look at 2009 and see what was “good” about it, and what was “bad”. In the end I hope you can know that it’s not about good and bad, but rather what served or did not serve you and your purpose. Even some of the “bad” things can serve your purpose. Anyway, with a little more perspective you’ve been able to create your wheel of life. If yours looks anything like mine it looks less of a wheel, and more like a flat tire! No wonder life is a bumpy ride!

The Wheel of Life is a great visual to help you see where you feel you need help. It is those areas that you need to focus on first. It does not mean that the other area’s are to be neglected. Every area of your life should have some goals. Write them down.

Some things you need to remember about goals are the following:

This a quick down and dirty process. Forget about a New Years Resolution. They sound great, and maybe a New Years Affirmation is good… but if you want to make things happen, you need a road map. You wouldn’t take any other kind of journey without a map would you? Why not have a map for your journey through life?

Lastly I will recommend Debbie Ford’s wonderful little book, The best year of my life, (available through my website and Amazon.com).

2010 is being created right now as you read these words. You are creating it. Create the best 2010 you can think of. As Gandhi wrote; “Be the change you see in the world.”

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard