A Good Opportunity

Today you will be given many chances to be the person you want to be. Don't miss them. How?

Keep your eyes open (metaphorically) so that you will actually SEE them. Be "aware", i.e. be alert to what is going on around you and respond accordingly.  Behave as you would like others to behave towards you if you were in their situation. A friend is silent? A good opportunity to show your caring. Someone did you wrong and you feel like retaliating? A good opportunity to forgive. You are upset and want to express yourself in a way that you later might regret? A good opportunity to forbear. A dear one is suffering? A good opportunity to show your love. A stranger looks at you? A good opportunity to smile. And so on.....

Thinking of Wanting

As to wealth or success, do people always behave in the right, correct way in order to carry out their plan? Will the achievements obtained in a less than honest way bring true fulfillment? Maybe we should make a distinction between what we really want and what we "think" we want. Some may still believe that serenity of mind and inner peace are less important than other "gifts" the world (and advertising) continues to lure them with - every single day, hour, minute of their lives.

Chained!

Not being able to release the past is like allowing an iron ball to be tied to your ankle and accepting to keep it there. Are you okay with having to drag it wherever you go? Do you enjoy the stress you experience because of the extra weight? What about the blisters that the friction of the chain around your ankle causes you? Oh, well! Most probably you are not even aware of such iron ball. You just go on living your life - complaining about the "heavy stuff" you have to face daily, about your upsets, your dis-eases and you never wonder if another possibility exists. Which one? To simply become AWARE, have the courage to look at yourself in the eye (mirror work?) and recognize your addiction. Addiction to what?  To... feeling a victim, enjoying being pitied, remembering the wrongs done to you. In a word, addiction to twisting the knife in the wound, over and over again! Is this an acceptable way of living or would it be worthwhile to try removing the chain? It might take a little time, some work and a certain amount of effort. The decision, as usual, is your.

Things Happen

You are disappointed when you don't achieve the results you wished for: things don't turn out "right", people behave "wrongly" etc... Can you avoid any of this? Hardly. Things happen they way they do, people are the way they are and you have to face different kinds of challenges on a daily basis.

Being discouraged implies a different situation. You don't know how to face the challenge. Maybe you don't feel like doing it, maybe you don't trust yourself enough, you wonder if it's worth it to make the effort. And this is dangerous, because - by accepting it - you put yourself on the direct route towards depression, i.e. feeling that such kind of life isn't what you want, feeling a victim. Is this what you want? 

21/12/2012!

It’s here, at last! So many prophesies have been cast, so many books have been written, so many lectures have been given on this topic, the Winter Solstice 2012. What can we believe about the forecast of “Doomsday” (one of the many interpretations of the end of the Mayan Calendar)? I have always found this subject interesting and I believe that everybody should be aware of it because it actually concerns us all, mankind and life on the planet in general. It is a topic that should be looked at with eyes wide open, with an alert mind, a little logic, some intuition and a deep feeling.

 No one can deny that great changes have being taking place for quite some time and – it’s evident – at a greater speed than before. Such changes are happening all over the world and concern the physical/material level as well as the spiritual/psychological one. We keep on hearing about floods and earthquakes more often than in previous years, climate and temperature are behaving in a most unusual way. Many things seem to have lost their balance.

 The minds of too many human beings are totally immersed in a technological world that separates them more and more from reality, from positive feelings, from proper interaction. Furthermore, on an almost daily basis do we hear about scandals concerning corruption, betrayals, pedophilia, frauds, larceny and torture, shootings… Yes, yes, all these crimes have always existed. But, now, they seem to have become a daily news here, there and everywhere.

 Mankind is unhappy, dissatisfied, more aggressive than ever and the result is a dreadful turmoil that shakes the world from its foundations. Einstein said that the Earth’s axis will tilt and some remarkable consequences might be felt. Well, no one is considered a “prophet” here and now, and most dismiss such considerations as idle. “Doomsday”? Hard to say if it will or if won’t happen. TODAY is 21/12/2012 and, if you are reading these lines, it means that – at least up to this very moment – we are still alive, the world still exists and it has evidently not come to an end. But, probably, this is not even the really important point. I am deeply convinced  that mankind has reached a stage in its existence where self-examination and self-assessment are of paramount importance. We must all find out what our true values are, what our true motivations are, what “life” means to us, what aspirations we are sheltering in our hearts, what we are willing to “do”. No one can afford to move forward with their eyes metaphorically closed. “Awareness” is the new word/motto to which every human being should be encouraged to found his or her life upon. We need a huge leap into a new perspective, into a new way of perceiving reality, into a novel understanding of the real place each of us has in the economy of the Universe. Time has come to make meaningful changes. And we must do it, NOW! The survival of the world is, literally, in our hands.

Unexpected Gifts

Have you ever been pleasantly surprised, receiving what you had stopped hoping for? Or what you would have never expected to be given? A good news? A reassuring medical report? A positive answer to a request? A smile or a kind word from someone you thought did not like you? An unexpected gift? A helpful feedback? A happy ending to....? (Fill in the blank).

It doesn't matter how big or small the surprise is. It is always a gift that you should acknowledge and consciously be grateful for. Miracles happen every day, they only need your willingness to recognize them and... feel joy.

Don't Despair!

A well-spent today makes you trust that there will be a good tomorrow. But if, at the end of the day, you regret having said or done certain things, if you feel you have lacked compassion or missed a chance to do good, then you might be worried about facing another day. But...don't despair! Each day is a new beginning, a birth to new experiences and possibilities, if you only make up your mind to grasp the opportunity, to make the leap, to start re-creating your life. It is never too late to decide otherwise, to make a change -  no matter how small. Small changes lead to great transformations, any decision defines your possible new destination.

Today

Take a moment to think about how you are living each day. Check your usual attitude, your behavior, your way of dealing with yourself and with others. Does what you "do" make you feel satisfied, contented, fulfilled? Can you honestly say that you are living "well", i.e. according to your principles and convictions? If this is the case, enjoy your life and don't worry about tomorrow. As the saying goes, "Tomorrow will take care of itself". If you have any doubt, if you think you could do or be better, go ahead! It is always up to you. The decision is always yours. You always have a choice.

Knowing What One Wants

Is it true that each of us has an interior voice that knows what we want? Some believe we do. And you? Do you believe that such voice exists and, if you do, can you actually hear it? On a superficial level, everybody thinks they know what they want from life, what they wish to obtain in different fields such as love, success, wealth etc.. Admitting that they really "know", what do they "do" to achieve their goals? As to love, for example, can they detect which relationship is best for them, or do they often plunge themselves into situations that will clearly lead them towards disappointment?

Need for Reassurance

Doubts, always doubts! 

Mirror, mirror on the wall.... We want to be told that we are the most beautiful, the smartest, the most admired of all. We have this irresistible desire to be "the most", to be told that we are the best in order to feel reassured on the fact that we count, that we are important, that the world wouldn't be the same without us. And, in fact, it wouldn't be the same, because we DO count, we Do have importance, our presence here IS necessary. But not to the extent of making us believe that we are the center of the Universe.

In Front of a Mirror

We spend most of our lives in front of a sort of mirror. We only see ourselves, we are totally self-engrossed, we can't help thinking of ourselves...all the time. Peruvian-American author Carlos Castaneda said: "You take yourself too seriously." Is this what we really do? Why? Our human nature leads us towards self-preservation, towards the acquisition of happiness, towards experiencing pleasure and avoiding pain. All this is right, fair, natural. It's only when we forget the needs of others, or when we expect others to live in order to fulfill our needs that we become "selfish". 

The Denouement of Your Life

In your young age, preparation takes place. You study, make plans, get ready for what you intend to do as an adult. Next, i.e. most of your life, you work, raise a family, face challenges and solve them. You experience. In the following stage you might feel the need to withdraw from it all. You need some time alone, possibly doing nothing, just “being”, just “allowing” whatever comes up from the  deepest part of our own self. You are in the “cocoon” state! You elaborate all the previous experiences, endeavor to mold them into something new. Finally, you hopefully succeed in realizing who you really are, who you want to be and what you want to achieve that really matters. This is the time for discovery. You turn into a “butterfly”!

Black Top or Red Shirt?

You “do” have a choice. In each and every instant of your day, you are faced with different possibilities: wear the black top or the red shirt, eat meat or fish,  listen to a friend or ignore him/her, answer with a kind word or with a rude one, believe you are a winner or a loser. Most of what you are surrounded by (environment, situations, people) is always trying to make you believe that the only choice you have is to go with the flow, to do what others do, to accept what others tell you to do. This is what “advertising” does. “They” endeavor to convince you that the only way to live better is to buy their product, to believe what they say, to trust their promises. You need to remove the blindfold that is shrouding the perception of your true freedom to choose what you really want to do with yourself and with your life.