Patience.

Of the many virtues that become an integral part of our inner being patience is the one thing that I am normally not in short order of!  Whenever there is an expectation then impatience arises inside and the feeling is like anxiety.  The key is to not become attached to the outcomes of any of your efforts of projects.  Stay focused and work diligently then let the process take care of itself.  Where there is expectation there is a need for control and that takes the lesson to a deeper level.  Even though there may be years of purification and inner cleansing through meditation and spiritual practices under the guidance of a spiritual master there is still the human urge to want outcomes to manifest.

That being said don't let a few incidents feel that you have lost ground.  Other feelings of attachment are part of the awakened soul such as grieving when someone passes from this life.  In reality it is our own loss that we cannot bear because the soul that has been released doesn't grieve to return to this life.  We can all feel joys when our favorite officials are elected for example but the true joy and happiness inside doesn't belong or resonate with outside events.  Our soul loves to be in its own perfect joy that comes from uniting the soul with God.

Always seek to find truth in any situation no matter what and if that takes a long time you will benefit from the experience by learning patience.  God knows our nature and for everything there is a season.  Be kind with yourself and examine where your life is leading you today.  Fall is a season that reflects letting go of the old and getting ready for the winter which is a time for silence and stillness.  In the fall the leaves turn brilliant colors and naturally leave the safety of the tree to cover the earth and become a source of nourishment for other plants and animal life.  We too can let go of our outer coating and get back to our bare frame.  When we are stark sometimes we find that what is real and true for us remains and what isn't dear to our hearts is automatically dropped.  At times when we are feeling stretched we can unload the extra baggage that we tend to hold onto either emotionally or materially.  I have found that my life is more relaxed and pleasant when I simplify.

The topic of boundaries is very important to teach children when they are young.  Today I was troubled by articles about a three year old whose personal space was violated by airport security.  This kind of infringement is about our 4th Amendment Rights and they need to be protected at all costs.  Go to Judge Napolitano's web page for more details.  What I want to get across is that personal pictures should not be part of the government documentation about any individual.

Recently I visited a home of some friends and noticed that a male friend of theirs spent a vast amount of time with the children in an upstairs bedroom.  One would expect a male peer of the parents to spend time with other adults and not the children.  These types of boundary issues are difficult to address directly with parents and I hope that I won 't be put in that position of having to do so.  When there is confusion and mixed messages such as when certain people can become like family members - a sort of kinship that some western cultures have too - that invites problems with boundaries.  There are people with problem behaviors toward children and the job of parents is to protect children from them.

I have other projects that I will focus my time and energy on over the holidays.  Kenya is my childhood home and I have written about my experiences and started a book proposal.  Now that a legal issue is being brought out into the open I can concentrate my energies toward constructive future plans for publishing.  So in the end the expectations for one situation may be in my mind delayed but instead of trying to suppress the experience of impatience I can create a whole new channel for my productivity!  I look forward to the legal issues unfolding as they must now do as measures have been put into action.  I also can let that go and focus on the positive work ahead with writing and publishing.  I am now in the fall mode of life in the present moment instead of expecting certain outcomes and waisting my precious energy.

I am a professional life coach and can be reached at lawrencerita511@gmail.com  I require that individual's meditate daily and follow a vegetarian diet.  I also recommend an antioxidant product at http://MyRain.me/rita

Success is now!

Many people rush toward the goal of achieving success and miss what is expressed by the saying "Stop and smell the roses."  Success is often eluded to as something that is a little beyond our reach and "waiting for us around the corner."  Being in the present moment will draw you attention to what is at hand.  It is the little things that make the big things that create the big picture - beautiful landscape r cozy house.  Really make it anything that you want but don't make yourself limited by your mind's ideas.  You mind may be inclined to have a room with a low ceiling that doesn't allow you to grow tall.  Make that room a huge area with an open glass ceiling to see the sky above.

Always start with clearing what is inside you.   Ask yourself what is creating a negative vibration that is repelling the success that you are working to materialize?  It could come from sources such as resentment, anger or greed.  Whatever it is you are the only one who can identify it and uproot it from your psyche.  You may need to start with counseling depending on where you are.  Always meditate because meditation is a means of connecting with the Universal Power that brings issues to the surface, without having to mentally examine the root causes.  I would advise you not to take medication if they are offered but to stay with the feelings that arise and let them pass through you.  Only if you are ever at a point of having thoughts of suicide or self harm do I advise that route.  And if you take medication before you learn to clear thought the process of meditation, thus increasing your brains ability to function at a higher frequency its obviously okay because it won't be permanent as you gain more traction on the spiritual path.  As you learn to associate the feeling with its root cause you will find that it will loose its grip or power over you.  Pretty soon you will anticipate when you will switch back into some negative association in response to an external event and be able to escape the whole process with a smile and perhaps a laugh at what once caused you anguish and despair.

Don't spend an enormous amount focusing on the negative but keep your hope on the future that lies before you.  Know that by staying in the present moment you will accomplish your objectives that will lead toward your goals.  If you begin to worry that the future will somehow not provide the positive outcomes that you plan on look at why that question is coming up for you.  Is it because of some tangible force or shift in circumstances outside your control.  For example the stock market might not be returning profits for the type of industry that your company represents.  There is no harm in pausing and gathering facts.  Hire a consultant if you need to who will lend a second opinion.  Always read the news and stay abreast of public policy as this affects us all and especially small businesses.  Become politically active and contact your Representatives and Senators whenever you have a concern about policy that can affect your business adversely.  Join organizations that have similar customers, goods or services who can help through being a resource.  Learn how to use your intuition and if you gut feeling is not to do something don't do it until it feels right.

What others say about you personally and as a business owner will impact your success.  Whenever you are in public always remember to be on stage and not to let your tongue get away from you.  There is a term that people in the hospitality business learn - on stage and off stage behaviors.  Until you are in a safe spot or with trusted friends be sure to keep your conversations in safe proximity. You want to be able to project an image that says you are trustworthy and are bound to your principles and virtues.  If you say a kind word to someone that person will always think of you with compassion.  Give to others as you would want them to give to you, as Jesus taught.  When you want to leave an impression in the world make it a good one.  It is much harder to try to salvage the damage that can be caused by a thoughtless rebuke of someone whom you considered insignificant.  You never know how much unofficial power and influence a person holds.  Take for instance a twitter follower.  A person may contact you directly and you may be someone with power and importance and drop that follower for their direct approach.  Who is the looser here?  That person who might not be a political player themselves can have thousands of followers and be a useful support to your business or campaign.  See things in perspective.  Nobody is to small to fail in God's eyes.

Marketing is a key component to success and it takes time to develop relationships.  Don't push to hard to recruit new customers.  Trust that when you put out the best product or service people are going to be able to find you.  Nothing is quite as fast as wild fires and word of mouth.  I read a book a few years ago on the  Grapevine as a marketing strategy that is used by companies who employ people to go out into the public and speak well of their products.  Most of us know who important it is to get a referral when we are looking for a lawyer or dentist for instance.  It puts our minds at ease if someone has a relationship with the person whom we need to obtain goods or services from.  Social network sites have allowed a forum in which we can get to know people over time.  Really get to know your client's well.  Chat with them on line and find out about their lives.  Coach, Tommy Spaulinding coined the term "Return on Relationship."  Just like a farmer who plants the seeds that will grow in response to environmental conditions, you are creating your wealth seeds through relationships.  Each interaction and each helpful gesture that you plant will grow.  Whoever you have influenced positively will look to your company for information or results when the need arises.  Make sure that you have done the ground work with your relationships and enjoy the financial rewards of providing services and goods at the best standards possible.

Your personal life plays a role in your success.  You may be motivated to meet your family's developmental milestones such as buying a home, providing vacations and sendidng kids to college.  Raising children is probably the heaviest financial undertaking that we take.  During your years of raising a family make sure that you are spending time with them.  Make your motto "I like my family better than money."  I watched a television program about Donald Trump and while his blended family members could report that he was a good provider there wasn't any real meaning to their relationship beyond that.  You will have to ask yourself whether you can get up earlier and attend breakfast meetings to accommodate leaving the office to see your kid play in little league.  Prioritize with your family as a focal point.  Spend time with your children each day.  Even for the financailly well off their children are at risk of being deprived of the love and security that can only be learned through contact with parents as role models.  Hire a nanny to spend time with your kids while you and your spouse spend some time together on trips.  Make it a fun time for your kids by planning some local trips with their nanny in your absence.  When your home life is in harmony with your business or professional life you will facilitate and magnify abundance in your life.  Use the model of the four goals of life to evaluate and contemplate how harmonious the areas are: wealth, health, knowledge and liberation (or self-actualization.)

I recommend that you spend a recommended amount of time exercising daily.  I promote yoga because it keeps the body subtle and doesn't put stress on joints.  Whatever you choose is going to work for you because your body needs to be maintained just like the engine of a Porche.  Yoga poses unite your body with the intention that the pose was created.  Yoga poses often use animals and nature to illustrate our own body's needs.  For instance I like the mountain pose because it helps me stand firm in my life and feel grounded.  Find a yoga studio or class near you and committ to a series of physical and inner transformations.  Someone whom I have taken classes from in the past when I visited my Meditation teacher is John Friend.  Check his website for videos etc. to help you with this amazing practice.  Be mindful of what you expose your senses to by not indulging in things that are of a lower nature and I think that you will get my jest without my having to spell it out for you.  When you take in negative qualities through exposure to wrong use of body, hurts your spiritual development.  Don't think that you are free from the effects of the wrong that others participate in because your are viewing it only.  Not so! 

Keep regular hours for sleep and wake up early to meditate.  The early hours are auspicious as the earth is still and that makes it easier to go within.  Learn to use the breath to guide you into meditation.  Breath in deep and long and exhale completely.  Oxygen is essential for life and the more we can get to our cells the better our bodies will be.  Eat vegetarian foods.  Today I received an email claiming that it was a plot from the left to promote vegetarian foods.  I am conservative and don't have to know anything more than from my own experience of being vegetarian has made my intestines clean and body healthier.  I am against factory farming and the inhumane slaughter of animals.  Once you realize the sacredness in all life you will not want to harm other forms of life much less eat them.  Instead join animal rescue organizations and see how these farm animals relate to humans.  If you like your own dog or cat you will like how pigs and goats love you too!  Don't shun what is best for your own good because of your social conditioning.  Learn vegetarian recipes and enjoy eating in a way that promotes health and reverses illnesses such as coronary artery disease as Bill Clinton has recently shared.

Have gratitude for your many blessings that are showered on you throughout the day!  Be at peace and mind the words you use.  I will discuss more about the power of words tomorrow.  Feel free to contact me at lawrencerita511@gmail.com