Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile!

Just like the song that was sung by soldiers in WWI we to can tell ourselves to smile at our wold and sing a merry tune as we step into our bright future.  Keep your chin up and put energy into your stride.
In a recent post I outlined the role of core beliefs a system of structuring how we view ourselves and the world.  Our future will either be bright or not depending on where we stand with ourselves and how transcendent we have become.  For instance a person who believes that they don't stand a chance of success in life because of circumstances beyond their control may become despairing and view themselves as incapable in a world that is rejecting.  A 42 yo French man recently swam the English Channel without the aid of arms or legs.  In '07 he "J'ai decide de vivre."  (I decided to live,)  and started to do just that by parachuting out of a plane.  He realized that no matter what others thought or said about his limitations it was up to him to live his life to the fullest and not be defined others.  We can all relate to that awareness when living with emotional pain and self pity becomes too much of a burden to bear and we find ourselves hedging toward a different destiny.  One that we are co-creators of with God.  God loves us and has a plan for our lives no matter how bleak it may seem in our own estimation.  Your life is a guarantee to find the freedom you want.  You will be the road map for others who will come behind you.  Another story I heard was of a football star who was made famous overnight in the NFL league.  He had been working in a grocery store stacking shelves and practicing football until the big break came.  That is what I mean by co-creating.  You have to do your part and be ready to move up to the plate when God calls.

Core beliefs I mentioned are "I'm not pretty...I'm dumb...I'm not lovable...Nobody likes me...I will never amount to anything..."  We can all tag our story line on to these open ended phrases because we can muster up blame and pin the responsibility for our own unhappiness and lack of success on someone else.  When inmates reflect on their crime and the pain that they have caused they often do so in a self pitying way because they don't want to take responsibility for their wrong thinking and actions.  There is no room for blame!  If your mother tried to abort you, a class mate in graduate school mother had done causing her deformity or if your mother took medication that resulted in deformities you will have to accept that fact and decide to reach out to others and not stay in the space of blaming.  Blame only keeps you stuck and you are likely to wallow in self pity and never grasp the chance to use your talents and discover great things about yourself and the world around you.  Inmates who have committed serious crimes such as the murder of a mother and two beautiful daughters in Connecticut in '07 speak loudly about the disregard these two brutes had toward a loving and happy family.  Their thoughts of unspeakable lust and greed robbed others of their right to live.  There comes a time when someone has been unable to correct thinking and behaviors that result in harm.  In the case of these two murderers they deserve to die.  Goodbye to the chance of restructuring thinking and shaping healthy core beliefs and the world will be closed to those who do others harm.

Once you identify a particular core belief and a thought arises or an assumption is made in relation to your job for instance you can start to mentally challenge yourself.  It might be a core belief that tells you that you are not good enough for a promotion and that your boss is looking for someone from outside your department instead of you.  When you break your thinking down, you really have no basis to believe what your mind is telling you.  Instead prepare yourself by rewriting your resume and buying a new suite for the interview.  Review all policies and procedures that you might be able to discuss to your advantage during an interview.  Spend time and money on your personal appearance: manicure and pedicure, facials, hair color and styling.  Go to the best places for your polishing up!  Read books on subjects that will add to your skill in an interview and that will make you better at your job once you get it.  List your best qualities that will make you the best candidate for the job.  Take extra courses or enroll in college for a higher degree.  Don't let opportunity slip through your fingers because someone way back in your existence told you something that wasn't true.  Dr. Ben Carson who is a world renowned neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD.  Hopkins is the most prestigious hospital in the US.  Dr. Carson shared his own story about growing up in the East side of Baltimore which has mostly socioeconomically undeserved people living there and mostly African American.  He was brought up by a single mother and almost failed fourth grade.  Yes I mean it!  Don't let others define you.  You have a purpose and God has a plan for you so never ever give up for people who don't care about you anyway.

My Spiritual Master has a form which he gives out to new initiates and asks his followers to send it for him to personally review.  I believe him when he says that he will read them.  During my visits to see him in Naperville, Chicago he spends hours with us as a group outside the time he spends in formal talks.  He absolutely emphasizes our value and self worth through empowering us with his attention.  My first Spiritual Master decided that it was time for us to do the work on our own and was available to us through Internet programs and books and through our love and devotion for her we still received her Grace.  No matter what it is in life if it doesn't feel right for you don't hold on and let other's again define your path or worry about what will happen.  It was God's will is for me to move on and remember with sweetness and gratitude all that I have learned.

This kind of thinking is what I am talking about.  It is taking the high road.  Even though the events leading up to my leaving my first spiritual path were unfair in my estimation I know that ultimately good came from it because I am with a teacher now whom I feel totally aligned with.  He believes and teaches vegetarianism and asks us to consciously consider what animals have to suffer in their lives to become our food.  He also asks "Why do you want to make your body into a graveyard?"  I have been a vegetarian since 1986 and I can understand how clean plant sources are by comparison.  He also discussed the absolute truth about the sanctity of human life by saying that the soul begins at conception.  Actually it is before conception that God knows us and our names are written on the palm of His hand!  There is no room for blame or bitterness on the spiritual path and why waste time on anger and resentment?  We have all experienced how uncomfortable those emotions make us feel.  Choose to take the high road and let people do or say what they want.  We are like stones being tossed about on the river bed.  As we are able to take the tumbling and move with the current of the river we end up where we are supposed to be and smoothed out our rough edges.  Be patient as you are going through the process.  Since I have used the metaphor of the river I am reminded what my friend Lottie Rose used to say: "Don't push the river!"  She said it so emphatically with her German accent!  She also said "Life always turns out well for those on the spiritual path."

In review challenge negative assumptions and turn them into positives for you.  Work on changing your core beliefs and always make them affirmative and positive.  Phillippe who swam the English Channel at one time thought that such a fete was out of the realm of possibilities for him.  Be the best you can be and keep working on it.  It's character building to get up and have the guts to do what others told you you couldn't do.  It is happening in politics today with Christine O'Donnell (R) Delaware and she will have to show them what she's made of and believe that she can do it! 

Our thoughts are like radio waves that go out into the ether's and continue to circulate, so be careful what you send out!  It is like a mind waste dump out there!  Negativity is contagious so why not send out positivity and uplift yourself and others?  Your mind will believe what you think.  Meditation is the one sure way to clear the inner psyche of all past events that have formed us up until now.  Start where you are.  When you sit for meditation you can make an intention to overcome negative thinking.  Repeat everyday and it will go.  Think positive thoughts and read positive books like Napoleon Hill and The New Testament.  Remember to pray and constantly recollect God in your thoughts.  Once you are seeped in thoughts about God and His goodness you won't really have any room left for negative thoughts.  Keep a journal and write your positive and negative thoughts down that you experienced during the day.  Reflect on what happened to get you to respond negatively and re-empower yourself through recreating the situation in your mind before you go to sleep, but this time make the ending positive.  Moving forward with your life means challenging your comfort zones through education or whatever area of life is calling you to expand who your are and create new potential.  It will involve letting go of some goals and setting new goals that face you in the right direction.  Use your intuition because it is not a mental exercise with prescribed ingredients to make the pudding come out just right, thus the saying "the proof of the pudding is in the eating."  Whatever you have put into action will have inevitable results.  Don't be afraid to risk in order to try something new.  It's a leap of faith.  It is like letting go of one rope that you have been holding onto and grasping a new one that you will hold onto as you swing into action.  You can envision a scene from Tarzan.  Be ready to take the jump away from a secure branch into the air and know that you can trust yourself to take the rope and have a safe landing.  Set an intention and make that absolutely clear.  An intention is how the goals are going to bring you to a better place in your life.  An intention may be that I will be a stronger leader for others...I will have a lifestyle that is comfortable.  Write the goals to help you achieve your intention.  Be clear and write specific objectives.  My goal is to reach three new clients and sign them on this week.  Objectives will be posting blogs, writing comments and tweets, continuing groups Spiritual Life and Bright Future and starting BlogTalkRadio.  Make your goals measurable.  By X many days/weeks/months I will have X$, Xclients, etc.  Financial goals are what you want not what you think you can achieve.  Don't limit yourself in the wealth generating area of your plan.  Make your money making return on investment HUGE!!

Don't talk about or judge others.  Instead stay absolutely focused on yourself.  My Teacher once said we can have all the zeros in the world but unless we put a one first they don't mean anything.  After practice you will recognize your thoughts as soon as they occur and switch to positive and uplifting ones.  Just like changing the channel on t.v.  Especially in the work place don't repeat things about other people because it isn't a beneficial thing for you to do.  You will have to get used to transcendent living and taking the high road in all situations.  That means not accusing others of taking that you believed you were entitled to.  In Europe there is a saying "Noblish Ob liege!"  Practice this in your life with grace and allowing for others to be where they are and whom they are.  Don't get dragged into the gutter over petty things.  Learn to be noble.  You can do it and you are the very best at what you do!

Please feel free to contact me:  lawrencerita511@gmail.com

Look in your rear view mirror!

Spirituality means being more awake in every sense and that sometimes draws reactions from others who sense that we are different.  Being aware of this aspect of dealing with the public I recommend that you pay attention to what is going on and use the analogy of looking in the rear view mirror.  Awaken to the effects of actions in life and the karmic consequences of very action.  My Teacher says that we even have to come back this life to reap the fruits of our good actions!  However, other people's actions we don't have control over.  With this understanding we have to make the right choices about whom we look to as role models or associate with because until we become enlightened on the Spiritual path and cannot separate ourselves totally from other's karma's.  This was illustrated by my Teacher through advising people not to use or provide hands on healing where people make themselves a channel of healing energy.  My Teacher warns that we may pick up the karma of the other person in so doing.  My intuition has always told me not to participate in hands on healing and I am now glad that I have not done so.

Finding spiritual role model's is essential to growth and transcendence as they have mastered the limitations of the ego or self identity and merged with the great Self or God.  The relationship and oneness with your higher power or God comes with time spent in Meditation and under the guidance of a Teacher.  Masters of Spirituality teach us to transcend struggles and encourage us to develop virtues such as kindness.  There is no tolerance for violence and the student is expected to control negative thoughts and anger.  The relationship is as my Teacher said like a two winged bird.  One wing is our self effort and the other is Grace.  Change is always positive and we are able to then impart what we have learned and gained to others at times of great stress.  I believe that our country has reached a level of stress that will likely erupt into heated conflicts.  Being able to speak up and identify when there is danger in the rear view mirror is an essential part of today's awareness.  My own experience has been that of being politically engaged and people who have transcended the struggle of oppression and empowering the people are Gandhi, King, Jesus, Mandela were mentioned on Beck's program today.  Another I would like to suggest is Wengari Maarthai, Nobel Prize recipient in 2004 who has been an activist for the environment and women of Kenya.

Spiritual development calls for a time commitment to do the necessary practices  of Meditation and journaling as a tool for self-reflection.  As you continue to grow you will be given the necessary situations from your Teacher to burn the ego which is the false self that stands between you and God.  That part of you that believes and relates to the social conditioning and other inputs that your identity is built upon.  We also bring in Samskaras which are tendencies rooted in our soul that surface at times even when a person has cleared much of the small ego self.  If you have a tendency toward behaviors that are harmful to you others you will have to dig down deep and find where it comes from.  Perhaps being a victim is one way a samskara will manifest.  Recently there was a young woman who as it turned out intentionally threw acid on her face.  Once she begins to do self analysis she may find that it is a samskara from a previous life and no matter how much support she had around her at the time of this self destructive act it has been rooted in her psyche for lifetimes perhaps.

We live in a society where we can make gains in our lives and step out into arenas that call attention to our views or an office that we are elected to.  Christine O'Donnell is a 41 year old woman who has been involved in politics for many years and has raised a family.  The focus of attention from her own party leaders is on her background which includes a foreclosed mortgage and tax issues.  None of us get through life unscathed as my Teacher cautions us to understand as we traverse difficulties.  Mine has been a legal battle with the state board of nursing over a company I had owned.  The more support you have perhaps the easier it is to stay clear of money problems.  Those who have been privileged enough to have had schooling paid for and supportive families with political connections perhaps won't ever understand someone like Christine.  My bet is that she has put her family first when she could have been enrolled in college and on track to complete her degree within a four year time frame.  Even if it has taken several years to complete her degree it doesn't matter.  It is how you apply the best of what you learn and that can be from experience, reading and role models.  People who are "stuffy" insist that she doesn't have the right pedigree.  I think that it is because the public has gone through tough times for the past two years, that they can see how financial problems can happen to anyone.  That is perhaps where Democrats and Republicans differ in who runs.  I am totally in support of her run for Senate and WE THE PEOPLE will make that happen.  I think that we know by now who the people are who would harm her and the t.v. interviews of high profile people has been revealing.  In my estimation they won't be listened to as the respected experts as they have in the past because they are positioned with one foot on the banana skin and one foot in the political arena that Tea Party supporters have rejected.

When driving a car it becomes an automatic response to check to see what's coming up from behind because what other's do is unpredictable.  In Christine O'Donnell's case when she was elected to run against a Democrat opponent she should have had an escort to protect her as she continued down the road to success.  Instead she found leaders attacking her character and she has to keep steering the car and going down the road at the same speed.  If others want to slow you pace and not protect you from the rear then speed away from them!  Sarah Palin has the same kind of appeal as Christine because she has come from an ordinary background and can relate to people's lives and that is the basis for the bond that they create with WE THE PEOPLE.

Look in the rear view mirror of your life and see your life from the perspective of where you have been and speed up ans thus get away from those who are a threat.  If they cannot support you then move on as fast as you can.  Keep your eyes on the road ahead.  After the final victory the people who attacked Christine will have to eat crow.  The effectiveness of their opinions will be ruined and Christine will be victorious.  How many people have been thrown under the bus in this way by the establishment and not won because of the damage done?  Like many situations where we have had struggles while we grow it actually gives us resilience to face harder situations such as lack of the party's stamp of approval.

Core beliefs are our own attitudes about ourselves.

We engage with the world from our own perspective and so we have differences of opinions to outright conflict due to our beliefs.  Core beliefs that are held by youth can differ depending on the cultural context and our conditioning.  In Kansas City where I am living we have a lovely and swanky area called the Plaza.  It used to have a supermarket that was more upscale than price chopper for sure but it went out of business several years ago and not has been replaced.  A core belief that I have is that there are disparities based on race and culture and that the ones who have had the good fortune to earn the most money are ones with the cultural connections and families who inherited wealth.

We saw a rebellion in the Plaza earlier this year when a thousand young African American youths descended on the area to hang out and create conflict due to their mere presence.  A core belief held by people who are mostly white is that they have the right to shop in peace and enjoy spending their wealth on goods that are for the elite minority.  I believe that we have the right to earn money and I am all for it.  I don't like poverty and don't like it when you have to exist in a society where there are barriers to becoming wealthy.  It's called the old boy's club where depending on who you family is or who you know carries more weight than your talents.

Each generation has some distinguishing characteristics that make a statement about their core beliefs.  Generally I believe due to peer pressure individual thinking is not as common among youth as being part of a wave of new thoughts and the resulting expression of those thoughts via their behaviors.  When I was a youth just by following the Rolling Stones and The Beatles meant that you were counter culture to the older generation.  I adapted the same core beliefs as my peers that sexual freedom was a way of opening up and relating to the world of taboo and ending a systemic cultural conditioning that sex was reserved for marriage.  I for one didn't want to get married and when the time came when I felt the pressure to get married I had an opportunity to move to the Midwest, USA.

A core belief of the young people who invaded the sanctity of the Plaza where it can be viewed as sacred ground for the wealth of the area is that they deserve to be respected.  They are looking to enjoy the same freedoms as others but haven't got the doe (money) and pedigree to go along with their ideas of being free to enjoy the fruits of the good life.  They are pushing back in much the same way that I see the everyday French people who are pushing back at those who have taken over streets in Paris to kneel down and pray.  Here again we have conflict resulting from opposing sets of core beliefs and it's territorial in much the same way that the African American youth choose a territory to exhibit how they felt about the rich in Kansas City.

The Indian Spiritual Masters whom I have studied with help transform us individually through their talks which are based on philosophy and science to help us to realign our thinking and become better people.  We have all been conditioned by our families and culture and loose touch with our true identity and our  inner home of the heart which we share with God.  Through meditation and other spiritual practices such as jappa which is the repetition of a mantra, or God's name.  You can use whatever name that God is known to you and that is pure, holy and dear.  My Teacher has given a Sirnam which is a set of different names of God that are repeated silently.  The Master gives the names to the student and it is something which is kept as a sacred and significant bond and tool for the spiritual journey to sound and light meditation.  Meditation is not merely a method of using silence and stillness to feel calm and increase concentration.  It is a vehicle whereby you are enabled to connect with God and experience your own greatness. 

One of the core beliefs that most of us are taught and conditioned by our culture, is that to think of one self as great is not good and anyone who would share that personal core belief may find themselves ostracised by others.  We even have labels for people.  Big head, self centered and so on and so on.  The truth is that we are all great in God's eyes and the Bible even says that we are created in God's image.  My Teacher said during a New Year's talk that we should learn to put ourselves first because we can have all the zero's in the world, but unless there is a one first they don't amount to anything!  My Teacher's Master who came to the United States in the seventies said that we should honor, respect and love ourselves because God dwells within us as us.  A core belief that we are taught in the West is that God exists some where up in the heavens.  Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom of God is within.  Another Saint whom I love so much said that we should go into our hearts and roam because there is no other place that is as sacred.

I believe that youths today are seeking to find happiness in much the same way that most of us start to at least, through external sources.  True joy and happiness happens on the inside and it's not necessary to have luxuries and money to feel blissful.  I personally would rather not be poor and that is the way my personality is.  I am not comfortable going to fancy places because I am more likely to align my attention and concern for those who are working in such places and I never feel comfortable being on beaches where other's can enjoy because they are isolated in some ghetto like part of the town.  I noticed a parallel town in Naples, Florida where I used to visit my sister with my daughter when she was young.  It wasn't until we went to a store in a part of town that her husband was looking for bathroom fixtures or something that I realized that there were duplexes that housed a poor African American community.

My core belief that got me to this country was that I would be free to choose the type of lifestyle that I wanted.  I worked hard and completed my education at The Catholic University of America, Washington DC, graduating with a Master of Science Degree in nursing.  Being an entrepreneur I opened a business and then closed it due to issues with the state board of nursing.  A core belief of mine is that it is both good for your own personal development as well as helps others through volunteering.  I volunteered in prisons where I helped inmates manage their own spiritual programs and support each other as they served out their time.  Since I returned to Kansas City after working in the Bay Area, California I cleared up the issues had come up with the state boards in my absence and have found once again that the board posted something untrue about my standing on their web. 

A core belief that I may have in common with the African American youths is that they have the right to have the support and use of resources.  I think that the event caused enough of a stir that leadership has been putting their heads together to come up with some solutions.  I hope that one of the solutions is to educate everyone about respect.  I don't think that my spiritual Master's would condone behaviors that are disorderly.  However, I do note that they pay an immense amount of time and attention toward the youth and developing programs to support leadership among them.  I think that it is time that people learned to grow and expand their thinking to incorporate the whole community.

At my grandson's Christening I was moved when the Priest asked the congregation to open up to the African American community who lived just blocks away across the boulevard that seperates one section of town from the other.  I hope that their community embraces this idea and welcomes African Americans especially their youth.  It begins with each one of us to take the responsibility to stand up one by one when we experience things in our lives that aren't just and spread kindness wherever it occurs.  Just yesterday someone wrote on my facebook wall in a nasty way about children from a certain minority.  I am thinking of finding a way to keep a statement posted on my wall to the effect that I do not believe in being unkind no matter what the political issues might be.  I personally am quite conservative but I again responded to the chatter that had been going on over a picture of The First Lady taken from behind that they needed to "drop,"the thread. 

I would like you to start with yourself and write a list of what your own core beliefs about yourself are.  Negative ones that typically drive peoples self critical inner dialogue are ones such as (I'm ugly, stupid, not good at...., not likable ect.)
Once you learn to identify what they are you can then challenge your thinking that is driven by these sets of beliefs like an inner engine.

Meditation is the key to the engine so that you can turn off this useless nonsense that goes around inside peoples heads.  Meditate daily and eat a vegetarian diet.  Think good thoughts about yourself.

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