"The Twilight Zone" insight

In an old episode of a favorite show of mine,"The Twilight Zone", a man who believes to be the new Hitler is guided by this thought: AN  IDEA  IS  THE  MOST  POWERFUL  FORCE  OF  THE  WORLD". Simple, striking and... true! When you feel you are overwhelmed by a circumstance in your life, have you tried finding out what was the thought, the choice, THE IDEA that actually placed you in that situation? Do the same when you achieve your goal, when you create something new, when you change something old. You will be surprised to discover how great is the "weight" of your thoughts!

Living & Surviving

Life is short. We all want to make the best out of it. But how? In school they teach you notions, but where can you go to figure out the things that really matter?
D.H.Lawrence wrote:
"I just wanted to live my life so that my nights were not full of regrets".
And Emerson:
"We are always getting ready to live, but never really  living".
And WE? (= you & I) How do we live our lives? Are our nights full of regrets? Do we ever really LIVE? Or are we just managing to "survive"?

HATE Wristband

I've recently seen some wristbands displayed in a big department store.
Here is what was written on them:
HATE
DISLIKE
TOO MUCH TO HANDLE
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE
While looking for an image online, I also found this one:
CHEAT TO WIN
Questions that arise in my mind:
* Are these actual messages?
* Whom from?
* Whom to?
* With what purpose?
* Can they be harmful? Are they?
* Do we need this kind of messages?

Are we "immortal"?

While listening to some Strauss' music, a thought occurred to me: Great artists such as Leonardo and Michelangelo, great composers such as Mozart and Beethoven, great writers such as Dante and Shakespeare left "works" that will never be forgotten. This will keep them "alive" forever or, at least, for as long as our civilization exists. What about US? What about YOU and ME? Will we be remembered? Are we leaving behind something worth remembering, anyway?

A Song by Enigma

"Return To Innocence"

That's not the beginning of the end
That's the return to yourself
The return to innocence
Love - Devotion
Feeling - Emotion
Don't be afraid to be weak
Don't be too proud to be strong
Just look into your heart my friend
That will be the return to yourself
The return to innocence
If you want, then start to laugh
If you must, then start to cry
Be yourself, don't hide
Just believe in destiny
Don't care what people say
Just follow your own way
Don't give up and use the chance
To return to innocence

The Baby Is Stuck!

I am watching a smiling toddler who is trying her first steps. She is happy. She moves forward, than stops. Now she seems stuck, incapable of moving, but she is still smiling. She is clearly gathering the courage and the strength to make another step. I can't hep thinking about us, the "grown ups", when we find ourselves in a situation we don't know how to get out of. Unfortunately, we DO NOT smile while being stuck. We get upset, we worry, we fight, we reject, we oppose.... Who is more sensible, the baby or we?

Your Right To Be Happy

Yesterday I started my new workshop "Re-Create Your Life" (yes, my blog takes its name from it). Among other basic principles, we discussed our right to happiness. I also suggested to ponder about the possible, deeply rooted belief - usually unconscious - that we actually "don't deserve" to be happy. You might forcefully claim that it is not your case but... I then invited the participants to examine themselves at length, taking all the time needed (it might takes days, weeks, months!), in order to discover what their personal situation is. I invite you to do the same. It could be a life-changing discovery. AWARENESS always is.

Are you "excellent" or "common"?

The Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset wrote:
The difference between  an "excellent" human being and a "common" one is that the first asks a lot of himself while the second asks nothing.
How much do I ask of myself? How much do YOU ask of yourself? To what extent are we ready to go in order to live better, to "be" better? Prefer to bury your head in the sand - once again - and not think about it?

Couple Trouble

A short de Mello story:

A wise man offered the perfect solution to a couple that was forever quarreling.
He said: "Just stop claiming as a right what you can ask for as a favor."
The quarreling instantly stopped."

Please, think for a moment about your usual behavior: do you tend to demand, expect or ask for what you want or need? If you "ask", in which terms do you do it? The way your personal relationships are greatly depends on your honest answer.

Ant's wisdom

Sitting outside, I've been observing a tiny ant's movements for a while. It seemed that the ant didn't know what it needed or wanted to do. It kept going forwards, backwards, sideways without any apparent goal. But, in spite of appearances, animals - big or small - know what needs to be done. They have their instinct that guides them and they follow it. Human beings have a superior form of instinct called INTUITION that is able to guide them towards finding the most suitable path in their life's situations. How often do they follow its suggestions? How many are actually aware that such inner guidance exists and is always available?

Life in or out "of the box” ?

It’s interesting how people prefer to think (and read) about everyday facts,  about what’s happening in the world, little gossip, I’ve done this and you’ve done that… rather than engage themselves in something more serious, that would make them “think" and reflect upon their lives. They might be encouraged to examine themselves in order to become happier people, to create a better life for themselves and for their dear ones… But what do they do? They don’t pay attention because it would take a little effort, i.e. THEY WOULD HAVE TO THINK about what’s going on within themselves!! And they don’t want to take the time to do that, do they? At least not on a regular basis. It’s better to overlook what might cause “problems”, discomfort. If this is their choice…let them go ahead and enjoy their lives “in the box”. What about YOU?

Illusion or Reality? Hard to say!

Sitting at the front of a Greyhound bus, I was looking at the traffic out of the window on my right. After a while I realized that the cars and fields I was seeing were reflections of the front window reflected in "my" window. I also realized that the "real" road signs I wanted - and needed - to see were hidden by the reflections. I could not see them because my eyes were distracted by what was "unreal". Do we do the same in life? Don't we often concentrate on imagined stuff (and believe it to be true) and... actually forget to live the way we should, and COULD?

Dancing With God

Yesterday I attended a most unusual ceremony which, while I expected it to be "religious" in the traditional sense of the word, was instead a joyous celebration with dance, music, singing, even a Native American ritual. What I enjoyed most was the opening and closing song. Here are some of the words, sung by all present on the "Ode To Joy" tune:

"Sing a new world into being
where each gender, class, and race
brings its rainbow gifts and colors
to God's limitless embrace;
     where the lines that once
     divided
     form instead the ties that
     bind.
Sing a new world into being:
risk transforming heart and mind!"

In the next couple of days I will write the remaining parts of the song. They are too meaningful not to be shared.

A voice in the desert?

 I won’t be writing for a few days and, as I’ve just finished watching “The Wake Up Project”, I can’t help wondering: Is this documentary seen and pondered upon by many? Is what I write here USEFUL to anyone? Can it contribute (although in a tiny amount) to make someone’s life better?  To create more peace in anyone (even just one!) and, consequently, around them? To make the world a better place? Or is what I write totally “useless”? Is my voice like the one that was crying in the desert?