“Self-observation brings man to the realization of the necessity of self-change. And in observing himself a man notices that self-observation itself brings about certain changes in his inner processes. He begins to understand that self-observation is an instrument of self-change, a means of awakening.”

George Gurdjieff  1877-1949

We work hard to get an education, to make a living and take care of our family.  We want to realize our full potential.  But, who has time?  Just as we take steps to move up the pyramid, things always seem to get complicated and slow us down or get us off track.

Abraham Maslow, himself, stated that “If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.”  This is because people at heart want to achieve and grow toward self-actualization.  When we stop growing, we get unhappy and unhealthy.

We strive to be the best person we can possibly be.  Most people really try hard to succeed in life, often exhausting themselves in the process.  To go beyond and above the basics to the top of Maslow’s pyramid is our goal.  Some people find success at life so difficult to achieve that they do not even try to grow beyond the needs of daily life.  Because to integrate the lessons of life that push us higher takes a great deal of courage and impeccability in with our actions and our words.

For most of us, every hour of our life is consumed to satisfying the basics and with the material issues.   Nevertheless, we have to run very fast to stay even in this non-forgiving economy.   Forging onward toward achieving the top of Maslow’s pyramid is a challenge, to say the least. Life continually provides us with situations to learn, to grow emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually.  Life knocks us on the side of the head and causes us to step back or rest.

Self-actualization means a complete understanding of who you are, a sense of completeness.  It means that we no matter what hand life deals, we have to take the time for self-examination and reflection.  When we take the time to do this evaluation, self-actualization is the result. Self-actualization is easily within reach.  We just need to take the time to let in a little light.

Life gives us choices each day but we only have a certain amount of time to drive toward growth.  The idea is to confront, examine and dissolve the negative characteristics that detract from our natural buoyancy.  By looking inside our mind we can see both good and evil impulses and thought patterns. We can hear the harsh critic of our ego self.  But our true self and being is not that ego self, not that noisy, scared, critical voice.  It is not necessarily the complex and dramatic weave of interrelationships and patterns that present themselves to the mind’s eye.  Each of these choices and life situations gives us the chance to free ourselves from that noisy voice to the calm observer who represents the grace, calm and dignity of our true self.

True magic happens when the individual gains that confidence and grace from self-actualization.  The magic is the magic and grace from the self.  By getting better acquainted with your true self, the one who has been there all along through all the ups and downs of life you can discover the answer to the most baffling puzzle in the universe:  who we are.  After discovering this hidden and wonderful part of yourself life becomes much better because you will understand the mysteries of life itself.

This is what mystics and alchemists talk about when they talk doing the “Great Work”.   Mastery over the great work gives you a command of your universe, which is yourself.

There is a great difference between mastery and ambition or achievement for one’s personal ego esteem needs or material gains.  While everyone has material needs, and having sufficient means or ability to take the personal time to grow is terrific, often material gain goes unchecked and some people will experience such significant abundance that it turns to greed or self indulgence.  The trouble with this type of success is that you can never become satisfied.  You can never reach a final goal.   Financial accumulation becomes another addiction with an unfillable void.  You keep rolling the stone of Sisyphus up the mountain and as soon as you get there it rolls down and you have to roll it up again.

True potential and self-actualization is the recognition that one has the ability to achieve anything we want and that the joy of this co-creatorship is the secret to Life Itself.  We have the innate ability to know everything inherently and to do anything we want in life yielding fruitfulness, abundance, peace and prosperity and bringing forth anything we need.  This is the grace of self actualization.

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

—Albert Schweitzer, Theologian, musician, philosopher and physician, 1875-1965

Some people are born to greatness.  Most of us have to work at it.  If you suspect that you fall into the latter category, as most of us do, you can hit the mark faster if you have some idea of what success is and how you can get there.

If you assume that an ideal strategy for planning a life rich in achievement is to merely find an achiever and then do everything just the same, you would be right.

Almost.  The problem is that success is defined individually.  It doesn’t come in “one size fits all.”  Many people think that they want the kind of success that they perceive others to have, without really understanding what it is or what it took to get it.

As much as it seems an interesting prospect, we can’t slip out of our own life and into the life of another, no matter how attractive or successful it might seem.  And there are still more practical impediments to morphing yourself into an achiever you admire.  In a fast paced world, most people at the top are behind closed doors or hidden behind a wall of agents, and intermediaries.  Not only is it nearly impossible to gain access to a celebrity or a mover and shaker, but it is likely that the person will not have the time to teach you all that he or she has learned in a lifetime, even if it could be articulated.

Even without direct access and endless time freely given, achievers have a lot to teach us.  One way to learn the secrets of success is to study achievers from the past. We can learn from them because these people hold still within the pages of books.

Historical perspective has validated the timelessness of their insights and brilliant outcome of their ideas and work.  And commentaries on their lives can add depth and insight to enrich our understanding of their essential nature.

As Edison learned from the pages of his books, and as I have myself learned from Edison and others like him, the real keys to success are passion and commitment.  This is where we start.

To be successful, perhaps we should first understand what success really is and how to recognize it when you have it in your grip.  So many people are changing jobs or even changing careers incessantly, I have started to call it “looking for utopia”.  When the key to success is so simple and right in front of our eyes.  Success is defined as simply as completing something to your satisfaction.  No more.  No less.   Just doing your best.

If you deliberately set a goal, achieve it, and are happy with the outcome, you are successful and should congratulate yourself.  Of course, there are various scales for successes, both large and small. Certainly, while finally getting a cluttered desk in order is a success, but let’s face it, it’s a small one.  Landing on Mars or curing cancer, however, would be bigger and some might argue, more worthy.  But that’s the point.  You decide.

If you are an achiever, you would set your sights fairly high.   But you still, simply, do your best.  I have been studying with great interest what the formula for so much professional and financial success that comes from the engineers and business people alike who live and work in Silicon Valley.  What I discovered is that the most stunning successes begins with passion.

Passion is an intense desire, wanting something so badly that you’ll do whatever it takes to get it.  It is the most positive of all obsessions … especially when it’s shared.  It literally creates the corporate culture and bonds like-minded people together.  Although passion is enormously helpful for getting started, it’s not entirely the key to success.  Nor is it enough to get you there.

Couple passion with commitment, and now you’ve got lift-off.  As in Edison’s lab, passion is the small spark that ignites a team to action, but commitment is the fuel that keeps the flames alive.

“I know this world is ruled by infinite intelligence.

Everything that surrounds us- everything that exists - proves that there are infinite laws behind it.

There can be no denying this fact. It is mathematical in its precision.”

—Thomas Alva Edison, 1847-1931

Edison’s is a man who changed everything for everyone through his fascination with light.

Furthermore, His life will give you another simple insight into a “thoughtful” life, where stunning results stem from contemplation and reliance on intuition and instinct.  He was born in 1847 in Milan, Ohio.  If Thomas Edison were alive today, I like to think that he would be living next door to me because he would fit right in with the inventors and entrepreneurs who form the nucleus of Silicon Valley society.

As you well know, he was a high tech inventor in high gear. In addition to my personal favorite invention of his, the incandescent light bulb, his list of accomplishments includes the stock-ticker system and printer, mimeograph, phonograph, a quadruplex telegraph allowing four messages transmitted simultaneously on one wire, and alkaline storage batteries.   A number of his inventions laid important groundwork for the microphone, telephone, X-ray machine, movie camera and projector, and electric wheel chair.

He was awarded 1,093 U.S. patents.  Can you believe how prolific he was?

What he achieved was no more amazing than how he did it.  As a child, Edison was only occasionally schooled, but his family had a library where young Thomas explored the world within the pages of books, becoming familiar with the works of scientists, philosophers, novelists, and playwrights, an eclectic assortment of ideas after which he patterned his thinking.  He found the library and his own explorations of the world to be more satisfying than the constrictions of formal education.

Later when Edison worked in his own laboratory, he still relied upon his own explorations and determinations about what was possible and impossible.  But, he didn’t do it alone.  He would eventually employ over 60 people, all of whom shared his belief that the only limitations on possibilities in technology were the limitations of their own imaginations.

Edison created what we today call a “corporate culture” based on supportive enthusiasm, where his staff was free to interact with him and each other, and freewheel with their thoughts.

When inventing, he would sit at his drawing board and sketch a component for his staff to consider.  While his staff was studying the sketch, he would wander away, deep in thought.  He would read for a while and then return to his lab, where he would delightedly sort through component parts, arranging and rearranging them in seemingly mindless configurations.  Then he would nap, where many people close to him contend that he got clarity.

Edison was living proof that much more information is available when the mind is relaxed and clear.  He would return to the lab after lunch, and review the original sketch, make any necessary modifications, and then work with his team until the project was completed, no matter how long it took, no matter how difficult the solutions were.

From the first rough sketch to successful completion, Edison was single minded and laser focused.  He loved his work passionately.  In fact, he sometimes actually lived in his lab.

He was famous for his ability to concentrate and block distractions, much to the annoyance of his neglected friends and family.  He was totally committed. And completely successful.  He was intelligent, interested in the way things work and his heightened awareness was tuned into super-consciousness.

I want to point out ten of Edison’s traits that are common to almost all successful people:

1.  He read a great deal.  The books he selected represented a variety of topics.  His base of knowledge was broad.  The point is that you never know where the source of your ideas is going to originate or where the information will lead you.

2.  He was analytical.  Although he was reliant on instinct and intuition, he was logical thinker who integrated every mental tool available into this work.

3.  He had great passion for his work.  When you’re doing what you are meant to do, when your thinking is clear and when you have slipped past the lions at the gates of consciousness, Paradox and Confusion, who stand sentinel at the Gateway of Truth, then you function with the highest joy and in the highest integrity.

4.  He worked with a group of like-minded people who shared his passion. He trusted them and valued their input.  He shared his energy with a team.  Together they made things happen.

5.  He knew how to think and made time in his day to do it.  Edison acknowledged the value of sending and receiving clear thought, and tuning in to clear feeling.  The only way to do that is to create quiet and be ready.

6.  He saw himself as a problem-solver.  He knew how to combine and recombine information until something made sense.  How did he know when it was right?  He knew.

7.  He understood the roles of rest and relaxation in the process of seeking answers and solutions.  Not only is a rested, relaxed mind more clear, but the very act of relaxation puts you into a state to send and
receive more easily.  Naps are a wonderful idea.  But if you’re unlike Edison, and you can’t sneak a little nap, then try rising from sleep a little more slowly and give yourself time for gentle contemplation. Or meditate.

8.  He was focused.  He knew how to block distractions.  He didn’t cloud his “receiver” with a lot of static.  He knew how to create and use quiet.

9.  He was disciplined.  Edison was a man with a plan and a man on a mission.  Clearly and surely.

10.  He was tenacious.  He worked until a project was complete.  Failure was not in his vocabulary.  I would be willing to bet you that he understood that failure is the balance to success, and that every failure merely eliminates one more thing that doesn’t work on his way to a success.

If the list seems daunting, don’t worry. While we all aren’t just like Thomas Edison, he sure can teach us a lot about how the mind works.

Perhaps, for us, it will all fall into place as we learn to use our mind’s full capacity, to eliminate self doubt and trust our self as much as Thomas Edison did.

“We may divide thinkers into those who think for themselves and those who think through others. The latter are the rule and the former the exception.  The first are original thinkers in the double sense, and egoists in the noble meaning of the word.

It is from them only that the world learns wisdom.

For only the light that we have kindled in ourselves can illuminate others.”

—Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher 1788-1860

Awareness is what a baby experiences when it takes a first breath.  Suddenly this child is rudely awakened from its state in the womb cognizant of a significant change in mental states and body processes.  Suddenly this child is self-aware.

Perception.  What is it?  Through certain faculties of observation such as sight, smell, touch and other physical sensations, we develop a capacity for comprehension and private thoughts which determine the differences between mind and matter.  We develop an image of our self and create that view as an illusion of a separate identity.  We form subjective ideas about this experience and record them.

We are taught by others, parents and caretakers, teachers, clergy about how the world is to be perceived.  We are given “the word” or language to relate our views.  We learn by doing.  Experimenting.  We are rewarded for choosing proper thinking and punished…for not.

We listen. We learn that  people are not always truthful with you, with themselves. Soon we are forming a framework that is unique to our personality and that we will function with for the better part of our life.  It can be a positive disposition or a negative one, depending on our nature and our early nurturing.

We see incredible diversity in life, in nature, in people.    We can get hurt by those who are supposed to love us or those who might be our friends in school.  The whole scene is amazing.  It can be overwhelming.  The beginnings of suffering starts early.  We begin the waking dream trying to understand what is going on around us.

George Gurdjieff (1877-1949) was a Greek-Armenian philospher who claimed that people do not perceive reality but live in a state of “waking sleep” but that it is possible for a man to wake up and experience life more fully.

The Sanskrit word for this waking sleep is Maya, meaning illusion.  Maya is the word used to describe our perception of the material world in which we live.

Fundamentally, these philosophies are pointing at the same thing:  that our mental abilities create nonphysical phenomena as a powerful view of reality.

Soon, we are old enough to choose whether to believe or not what someone says to you.  When you can begin to see the truth and to see people for what they really are, you can choose not to take anything personally.   You can short circuit the addiction to suffering that is set up and reinforced every day in life.

Of course, there a definite purpose to suffering. Suffering awakens consciousness.  It is normal for us to suffer, to live in fear and to create and recreate emotional drama.  Throughout the world we see this suffering en masse–wars, violence, abuse, injustice, anger, addictions and revenge.  And these situations create personal crisis.  These crises are designed for our personal evolution and to free us from past actions or erroneous thinking.

The purpose of this life is to pursue happiness and joy.  This is possible. It requires vigilance and attention to your immutable nucleus in your person.  But getting there requires us to surface and dissolve the negative emotions that get in the way of pure joy.

Our job is to manage our emotions, not lose control of them.  Gain control of fear.   These negative emotions represent a defilement of your own consciousness and lead to unnecessary anxiety.  Simply stop feeding these emotions.  Stop thinking about the past. Negativity will die of starvation when you learn to substitute a positive outlook and outcome as a considered expectation.  By raising your awareness of how and what you are thinking,  you can surface and dissolve those old, nasty belief systems that are planted like weeds in your garden.

We need to let go of the judge inside.  That judge is holding you back by incessant negative criticism–”I am not good enough, I am not smart enough, I can’t do it”….etc…  By becoming aware of how this inner critic works and how it affects your emotions you can conquer this judge and eliminate the inferior impulses and preoccupations that sap energy and increase alienation.

Silence will help.  Turn off the cell phone. Turn off the TV.  Turn off the radio.  Listen.  You might even find that the beliefs that are controlling the mind are the cause of needless suffering because you might realize that they are coming from your mind and are not real.  You can say STOP any time you want.  Catch the dream that you are living in the act.

Do your best.  Makes us happy.  Because you love it.  You can become an artist and paint a masterpiece of your life by the choices that you make.  You can choose to be aware.  Increased awareness can allow an awakening of dormant faculties that are capable of expanding the mind and overall quality of life.

You can choose to transform any negative energy into positive.  You can become free from the negative emotion that entraps the mind.  You must become aware of the fog that comes over us when we are entrapped by this emotion.   It can debilitate and harm.

Learn from mistakes. Practice.  There are many strong and long held beliefs that live in our mind that can be difficult to overcome. These beliefs took a long time to take root, and they may take time and patience to displace.  But it is possible.  And it is worth the effort.

Working at understanding the workings of the mind takes belief in yourself.  Practice at mindfulness improves awareness.  If you are not aware, you cannot change.

Grow your awareness by letting go of the past.  Just forgive any hurt, let go of anger, and live in the present moment, right here and now. By letting go of the past, you can fully experience the here and now–notice more, enjoy more, love more.  You can awaken from the dream and see what is real.

“We are what we think

All that we are arises with our thoughts

With our thoughts we make the world.”

—Gautama Siddhartha, founder of Buddhism, 563-483 BCE

The quality and quantity of work you produce is dependent on your ability to concentrate.  Functioning at peak performance requires self nurturing so that you can excel at highly creative activities and encourage breakthrough thinking.

There are different types of concentration:

• Focused: The ability to respond to visual, auditory or tactile stimuli.
• Sustained: The ability to maintain a consistent response in continuous and repetitive activity.
• Selective: The capacity to maintain focus with distracting or competing activity.
• Alternating: Mental flexibility that allows a shift of focus to move between tasks.
• Divided: The ability to respond simultaneously to multiple tasks.

Thought is formed by consciousness.  Thoughts just arise; they seem to form and carry on waves through the zero point field.  Some people can receive ideas and images from others.  It is not even clear if we know what we originate or what we pick up.  This does seem to explain how inventions and ideas travel.  We are like a biological radio receiver and transmitter.

Thought is the product of mental activity. The capacity to reason or imagine forms our intellect. The intellect manifests itself with intellectual capacity, creativity or artistic ability, leadership and academic excellence. The things that we think about form our personal depth.  To pursue the intellect is to neglect to form inferior mental images that drag us down.  For that which one thinks is a body of thought.

Using the intellect enables us to use our intelligence quotient to conceive of, to imagine, to understand situations or solve problems. When we are inspired by the fire of creativity we can expect new ideas or bring things into being by mental imagination - like an invention.

It starts with intention.  With purity of purpose.  The belief or opinion that we can get it done.  Then, through a type of mental visualization. mental images or visual pictures ideas spring forth.  With reason, concentration and intelligence we create our world.

Generally, one cannot get outside of our own mental box or intellectual framework.  We have a certain temperament, attitude and aptitude.  A negative outlook cannot help when one is attempting to learn new frameworks, create scientific hypothesis or solve world problems.

The very act or process of thinking or mental activity can weary us when the reasoning is weak or the thinking becomes circular, as in worry.  Worry is a negative and repetitive system of thought that serves no purpose. It produces anxiety and a host of problems.  Worry is the opposite of concentration. It produces nothing productive.

By keeping our thought processes active and clean of degeneration from the shadow or lower self (anger, jealousy, greed and selfish desires) the mind is better able to concentrate on higher principals and gain clarity.  Cleaning the mind from darkness enables us to move to a higher level.  I believe that we can increase our intelligence and creativity this way.

Highly intelligent individuals learn more quickly, deeply, and broadly than their peers. They tend to demonstrate high reasoning ability, memory, creativity, curiosity, a large vocabulary, and remember details. They often can master concepts quickly.  Some people exhibit intelligence in one area but can be lagging in others.  The ability is frequently not evenly distributed throughout all intellectual sphere.

Extremely high intelligence may become noticeable in individuals at different points of development. While early development often comes with the gifted, it is not a determinant. It is well-documented that Albert Einstein did not talk until he was more than 2 years old.  Some gifted individuals experience heightened sensory awareness and may seem overly sensitive to sight, sound, smell and touch. They may be unable to concentrate because of the distraction of the sound of a clock or another small disturbance. Hypersensitivity to external stimuli can cause some to avoid crowded environments.

Other highly intelligent people, however, are able to tune out any unwanted distractions as they focus on a task or on their own thoughts, and seem to seek and thrive on being in the midst of lots of activity and stimulation.

Meditation is an exercise designed to prevent your mind from thinking in a natural way by relaxing the body and senses. Meditation and contemplation place you deep in pure perception and awareness.  You can separate your “self” or the thinker from the thoughts going by.  Just noticing.  Just not thinking so much.

All this goes to just say that a mind is a terrible thing to waste and that life has so much to offer to those who can participate in it fully.  Let a little more light in.  Here are some suggestions:

10 Ways to Focus Your Mind

1. Get adequate sleep
2. Eat healthy food and exercise regularly
3. Eliminate distractions
4. Clear your mind of everything
5. Focus on your goal
6. Free your mind of negative or distorted viewpoints
7. Look at problems in different ways
8. Think about the opposite of your problem
9. Look for analogies
10. Take Breaks

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

—John Quincy Adams

Get out there and do what makes your heart sing.  Anything that interests you and provides a service to mankind will fit the bill.  It is a lifetime calling and best to choose something that fits your disposition.

• Some people feel a spiritual calling and help to establish the character and morality of society. They exemplify goodness and great purity of spirit and want to assist others in becoming more.
• Others become leaders–of societies, countries or businesses.  These individuals tend to exhibit qualities of courage, fearlessness and ingenuity as they face changing conditions and lead people through to their better welfare and prosperity.
• Providers and servers supply all of the goods and services from food to entertainment that society needs to support commerce and the social and economic welfare of the people.

All of these functions are needed to have our incredible human family.  In every area there is a chance to become dedicated by performing your work carefully and selflessly.  And in each area you can have a lifetime of success and adventure by continually seeking improvement in your methods and effectiveness.

Working for change or improvement is the criteria for making positive change, whether you are an athlete like Michael Phelps, who broke the world record in swimming and taking the most Olympic medals ever–or someone creative like J.K. Rowling, who managed to write the most amazing new classic book series while working full time and a single parent.  There is room for inspired service in every field of endeavor.

It takes dedication, confidence and perseverance.   Very few pessimists become leaders, it takes consistency and optimism.  You have to believe that success is possible and lead people into a collective vision of how that is possible and help them to believe in their own ability to “make a difference.”  Keeping a genuine and good sense of humor will help because people work better when they’re happy.

By being a positive example, the hardness of ego is overcome and replaced with the new softness from the encounter from inspiring and motivating other people.  No matter what you are doing, this quality is endearing and your influence is real and palpable. No words are necessary, because you lead by example.  Knowledge of the task at hand or situation is honest and supportive. Leading by example in accordance with the core values of  the group will build the trust and confidence of the people with whom you work.

Leaders take a challenge well.  The scope of the task is not a deterrent, because leaders are not daunted.  Leaders break down problems into component parts and work on the pieces until the job is done. Being accountable for their own actions and holding others accountable is the role that a leader plays.

Exhibiting a clear sense of purpose with goals, focus, enthusiasm, and commitment is key to success.  The leader has to show drive and initiative to influence because people always look at the results-orientation that comes from directing every action towards the agreed upon result, prioritizing activities to spend time on the activities that produce the best result.

Leaders will involve the people who are stakeholders, seeking their views, listening actively to what they have to say and representing these views honestly.  A leader cooperates with everyone.  Keeping people informed is an important function of leadership because no one likes to be left out.

Cooperation is an ability to work well with others while exhibiting good interpersonal skills. It is good to develop clarity on what is expected in advance, correct small variations before they turn into tragedies, and provide feedback on progress along the way.  Every person is unique and showing empathy and tolerance and dealing with their problems and issues fairly.  Thanking, acknowledging and recognizing people for their contributions and performance makes a good leader into a great leader.

Charisma is common in a leader. How do they develop charisma? What is it?  Why do some have it and others fall flat?  Self knowledge and self confidence are key to leadership. The ability to take responsibility and “lead” one’s own self precedes the ability to lead others. The best leader does not take the circumstances too seriously and keeps a sense of humor.  This quality is extremely  attractive.   This distinct ability is converted into leverage to motivate.   Dedication to a role or service builds trust that this preoccupation consumes much of leaders’ life - the level of commitment moves from merely service to a cause.  This stickiness of leadership translates into the ability to encourage and nurture those that respond to the cause.  Leaders delegate in such a way as people will grow.

Adaptability is critical as nothing stays the same.  Weighing alternatives, considering both short and long-term effects and then being resolute in decisions.  This resolute-ness builds trust.  People want to be with someone who has integrity, ethics and responsibility.

Lastly, listening and understanding what others say, rather than listening to how they say things gives this leader the empathy to attract a large and motivated group.

“Do your worldly duty, but without any attachment to it or desire for its fruit.  Keep your mind always on the Divine…make it as automatic as your breath or heartbeat.  To action alone hast thou a right and never at all to its fruits; let not the fruits of action be thy motive; neither let there be in thee any attachment to inaction. Fixed in yoga, do thy work, O Winner of wealth, abandoning attachment, with an even mind in success and failure, for evenness of mind is called yoga.”

—The Bhagavad-Gita

Selfless action is one of the primary laws of life from the Bhagavad-Gita.   Selfless action enables us to better learn about the workings of Atma, the inner self, and thus to follow the path to self-realization and truth.  This vehicle, along with contemplation, will allow us to gain a better understanding of the purpose of life itself.

Work done without expectations, motives, or thinking about its outcomes tends to purify one’s mind and immerse it in the act of giving, the basis of unconditional love.   Gradually giving of oneself and one’s assets makes an individual fit to see the benefits of a path of action.

The tremendous success of the book and movie, The Secret, is an indication of the building awareness in our society of how thoughts influence behavior and manifest life outcomes.  This is very good.   It is progress for individuals to realize that their life is created by the mental images that are projected from the mind.

But, one of the most troubling aspects of the popularity of these media successes is that the primary result that people are utilizing this secret for to manifest wealth.   While there is nothing really wrong with having material success, a better idea is to somehow have your work benefit and contribute to the higher good of humanity as a whole.

When you can act selflessly, without thinking of personal benefit you will be able to make great moral and spiritual progress.   Think of Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and other great doers and thinkers.

And, on the other extreme, those who live for themselves indulge their senses in physical enjoyment and fantasies for personal gratification end up squandering their life force and thus living their life in vain.   As rich or powerful as they may seem to the outside world, these individuals have turned away from life’s purpose –to achieve self-realization and to evolve. Results from this build the ego, or false self.  Egotism rises when the selfish desires stemming from evaluating our likes and dislikes takes over and the need to receive (compliments, strokes, adoration, money and worldly goods) becomes of paramount importance to remain strong.

Those who receive without giving are stealing.  Many times, those endowed with oversized egos are so busy feeding it that they cannot return favors, reciprocate with love, or even spend time with the very people who support them.   They are immersed in a type of entitlement that tells them that they are uniquely deserving of the gifts of time, goods or attention that they receive.  It does not occur to this personality to return the gift bestowed with like attention, or even with gratitude and appreciation.

Whatever the reason is that leads you to the awareness of the necessity of personal growth—it is a good reason and should be pursued.
•    Some wish to finally alleviate mental anguish that has plagued them all of their life.
•    For some it is physical –illness or pain.
•    Others wish the type of happiness that comes from abundance of wealth, love, power, and prestige
•    People who seek Divinity to grow in self awareness and understanding
•    And lastly, as the Kabballa reasons:  To Know the Truth for Its Own Sake.

In this final and most advanced state of seeking comes the wisdom and knowledge born of purity.  The other seekers have an egoistic or selfish motive that is attached to monetary or physical improvement.  All types of seeking is ultimately good as all lead to improved consciousness and lasting awareness of the fullness of life.

What course is your life on?

“Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted-One moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?

Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity
Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked
He’s so mad, but he won’t give up that easy
No, he won’t have it , he knows his whole back city’s ropes
It don’t matter, he’s dope
He knows that, but he’s broke
He’s so stagnant that he knows
When he goes back to his mobile home, that’s when it’s
Back to the lab again yo
This whole rhapsody
He better go capture this moment and hope it don’t pass on him

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You want it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo,

You can do anything you set your mind to, man”

—Eminem, musician

Fear often motivates us in a negative way, preventing us from doing what we might feel is a risk. Everyone feels some fear and life just seems to put us in situation after situation to confront these fears.  Nothing beats the exhilaration of conquering a fear.  Giving it your all.  And poof, in a flash, the fear is gone.

Of course, it was only in our mind.  A figment that we placed there believing we knew what the worse possible outcome could be.  That is putting a reality out of the future.  Why not live in the present and see what really happens rather than configuring it in advance.

Our job is to go out to the edge and experience there.  Athletes and executives alike live there.  On the bleeding edge of reason.  The more we see the profound insight that can be gained by living on the edge, the better able we are to move further out on the boundary line.  And it is there that life is most real and intense.

Living in a small box is safe.  Boring really.  Most people live their whole life in a pre-programmed safe environment that society has envisioned.   Conventional people say that this is the way to live.   Is it the only way?

Out on the edges, we can feel more alive and experience the accomplishment that comes from achieving the impossible.  It is so great to see people who challenge the conventional and spend their life pursuing their dream–and achieve the greatest possible pleasures from doing so.

Some people come to mind–Lance Armstrong, overcoming cancer with a bicycle; Oprah Winfrey, inspiring people with heartfelt stories and personal accounts….Eminem, rising from poverty to be the first major white rap star.  All of them lose themselves in the moment….

Not driven just for the pursuit of money or fame, but following the heart by spending time giving of yourself and letting it show. Here this level of commitment colors all activities as creativity, love, passion, dedication are expressed in all fields of human endeavor.   It is here that the individual has the capacity to uplift others by sheer expression and presence.

Whatever your passion is…go for it.  It is possible to make enormous strides in a lifetime by applying our conscious efforts and will to a meaningful and transformative life creating a future that is inspiring to everyone.

“I’m going to be a superstar musician, kill myself, and go out in a flame of glory. I want to be rich and famous and kill myself like Jimi Hendrix.”

- Kurt Cobain (1967-1994)

In the above quote by Kurt Cobain, he seems pleased with his decision to go out with a bang.  And he did just that.   Could anyone have done anything to bring him from the brink of self destruction?

If only it were so easy to just change our mind and instantly transform from the practical dilemma of mental problems.  Unfortunately, it is not so easy.  Mental illnesses of every sort are unpredictable.  Individuals can alternate between episodes of depression, anxiety, mania, psychosis and wellness.  In the middle of an episode the individual cannot comprehend the problem and indeed believes the problem is the friend or family member.  The person can be very rational in many ways, but not in others.   Anyone around this person finds themselves hurt, dazed, bewildered and confused.

Families perpetuate the cycle of mental disturbances.  While this phenomenon belies the discussion of nature and nurture, both genetic disposition and parenting are factors in the family.  Parents with, shall we say, a different construct of reality, do not usually make the best role models.  Child abuse is rampant in our world, with physical, emotional and sexual abuse among the leading causes of mental illness later in life.

Still, the makeup of a disordered mind is complex.  Everyone comes to this world with a distinct personality and temperament.  These seems to be resident at birth.  There can be organic, and genetic susceptibility and differences between the nervous systems of individuals in our biology.  The brain organization is a significant factor, coupled with the belief system of the individual.  So, as the individual experiences emotion that affect their beliefs, gradually the mind is conditioned to allow the impulses to affect his whole being.

At this point, the mind has taken over and is in the driver’s seat of the soul or the conscious being.  The content of the thinking is on some kind of autopilot.  The individual is at the effect of the thinking and it is negative–blame, shame, distress.  A crisis. A journey with no destination.

A diagnosis of a mental disorder is deeply stigmatizing but should not be.  Depression, anxiety and psychosis are extremely common and often hidden from view from co-workers and friends.  The individuals have their own reality and cannot understand why other people do not see things the way they do.

It is futile to attempt to change someone else or even arguing with them, all we can do is accept that their personal version of life is realistic and valid.  The nature of thought is so personal that it is impossible to try to get a glimpse inside.  Therapists spend years with behavior modification techniques to coax the dysfunctional personality to identify and correct situations where they might lack the empathy to evoke a proper response.

Each of these situations is a lesson in coping for friends and family of the one who suffers.  Anger, abuse, laziness and anxiety attacks may be part of a regular landscape of irregular behavior.

And what about the real problems of the past that may be the cause of the pain?  The only way to dissolve them is to understand them and let them go.  The destructive effects of these thoughts are not real, they are just a function of our consciousness. These thoughts can be kept in perspective.  Ideally, dismissed.

It takes a real conscious effort to come back from the illusions that the psychotic mind has created.

Each and every situation is an opportunity to transform.  There is a fine line between psychosis and a spiritual transformation.  Serenity has to take the place of anxiety as an epiphany takes place.  Perhaps the changes that certain people need to make are so significant that it takes this exaggerated of a personal crisis to gain the sensitivity to search for positive feelings in life.

Mental functionality disintegrates when the life within is in so much personal pain that the soul vacates the premises.  Then, a primary disconnect ensues that separates or divides the person into so many fragments that have been left in the past and covered with pain and denial.

I believe that all people with personality pathology or mental disorders have the capacity to reclaim their wholeness and can transform with sufficient desire.

Thinking is a gift and each of us has the ability to focus on the things that can bring happiness and peace to our self and those around us.  It is our thinking, not the circumstance, that determines how we feel.  Happiness lies in the peacefulness of the present moment, not in the nightmare of jumbled thoughts that the mind is capable of producing.

Staying in the present can produce the level of concentration that enables us to be productive and supportive members of the human race.  When we experience the present moment, the natural state of bliss which is the birthright of all humankind is restored.

If we’re willing to give up hope that insecurity and pain can be exterminated, then we can have the courage to relax with the groundlessness of our situation.  This is the first step on the path.

—Pema Chodron

Science has recently reversed its position that our brain becomes inflexible with the onset of age reversing the old addage that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”.   The new science reveals “neuroplasticity” or how the brain changes itself.  Neurons are created every day in all of us and with repeated activities we can establish new neural networks.

San Francisco based Posit Sciences (www.positsciences.com), founded by Dr. Michael Merzenich, is an interesting new company who is on the forefront of what they call “Brain Fitness” developing software products that exercise the various cortexes of our brain so that we can retain more, stay more active, think, imagine and dream in old age.  The brain has the capacity to change itself with no drugs and no surgery.  Theoretically, this could even help people with strokes, brain tumors, brain injuries and the like.  Pretty heady stuff.

For that matter, the biologists have created the new field of epigenetics, or how genes interact and change with their environment.  The study of epigenetics may one day lead scientists to understand how the mind, diet and exercise, and emotions of the subject can affect our genes to change the outcomes of our propensity to inherit disease.

By thinking differently, consistently, rather than focusing on the despair caused by depression (or vice versa–the depression is caused by the despair) we can awaken from depression and go on to repair the damage that we have done to the brain and its hippocanthus and hypothalamus, areas of the brain that produce memories and emotional responses to stimuli.

Meditation and general mindfullness is one of the most common ways to replace the lost ability to concentrate that depression has caused.  The levels of yoga from Yama to Samadhi are measured in the duration that one can remain with thoughts on idle.  Starting with only 12 seconds.  12 seconds does not seem like much, but it is hard to silence the mind.  Can you?  Samadhi is clocked at 345.6 minutes of concentration.

Many people suffer from a wild mind.  From the moment we awaken in the morning, our minds are busy telling us what to do, interrupting us all of the time.  Judging, evaluating, reprimaning ourselves and others, reminding ourselves where to be, etc.  All of this is just mental chatter, nonproductive mental chatter.  Racing mind.  This is unconscious thought that distracts you from achieving any higher purpose.  Who is in charge, you or your mind?

By quieting down the mind, we can become the observer.  We can observe and understand our thinking.  Here is the first step to mindfullness and awareness.  As you are the observer and owner of your mind.  Your mind, properly trained is available to you as an incredible resource.  Once that is accomplished, concentration can be instituted and with that comes a higher intellect.  With that concentration and observation, then a greater capacity for empathy and compassion can be developed.

The mind is a terrible thing to waste.  All good things come from concentration and listening to the still small voice that is found within.  You might find that you are filled with strength, and courage as you discover what is at the bottom of your heart.