Real Life Updates

“Even the fear of death is nothing compared to the fear of not having
lived authentically and fully.”
— Frances Moore Lappe, O Magazine, May 2004

At this time of year, we are making more efforts than at any other time
of year to make contact with friends and family. One way of doing this
is through Christmas letters and cards. I love to receive updates from
long-distance relatives and friends because it makes the distance
between us seem shorter.

My sister-in-law is particularly good at writing her letters every year
and what I love most about her letters is that they are real. She tells
it how it really was — tough times and good times. She doesn’t go into
the really messy details of her life, but I know that everyday can’t be
perfect. We all have our difficult moments, but we also make it through
to see much better days as well.

So try to keep your updates as real as possible, too. As Sarah ban
Breathnach reminds us in Simple Abundance, “Just remember that your
family and friends don’t live edited lives. You needn’t either.”

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!

Being thankful

"In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more
than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes
rich."
— Dietrich Bonhoeffer

After this holiday season, it may seem like we have given a great deal
to others. And perhaps in return, you were fortunate enough to be on
the receiving end as well.

In addition to all sorts of wonderful material presents, there is much
more that we receive everyday that we should remember and for which we
should be grateful. Remember the love and kindness we receive each day
from those closest to us as well as the gentle strangers passing
through our lives.

It is through these reminders on a daily basis that we truly can
appreciate how rich we are no matter what our financial situation is at
present.

Giving

“If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a
single meal pass without sharing it in some way.”
— Buddha (563 BC - 483 BC)

The holiday season brings giving to the forefront of people’s minds.
Carefully (or not so carefully) we select out the gifts for each person
on our list. Some are gifts to show our love. Some are gifts to fulfill
our obligations. Some gifts are given to help those in need.

This year try to see each gift you give as a surge of good “karmic”
energy into your life. Every time we give it will direct more abundance
and goodness to you and those you love.

Stress-free holidays

Before you agree to do anything that might add even the smallest amount
of stress to your life, ask yourself: What is my truest intention? Give
yourself time to let a yes resound within you. When it's right, I
guarantee that your entire body will feel it.
— Oprah Winfrey (1954 - ), O Magazine, October 2002

As the end of the year creeps closer, the little and big stresses of
the holiday season seem to be leaking into our daily lives. So we are
doing what makes the most sense to us, going away somewhere warm!

But, if you are staying home and looking forward to having family and
friends nearby, here are some suggestions to get a head start
on the season and make it as stress free as possible from Simple
Abundance for coping with stress:

Cultivate gratitude
Begin the day with prayer, meditation, reflection
Keep it simple
Don’t over schedule
Strive for realistic deadlines
Never make a promise you can’t keep
Breathe deeply and often
Drink pure spring water — lots of it (Side note: My trick is to
have four 500 ml bottles of water on my desk and I make sure
I drink them all before the end of the day – that is the minimum
amount needed! Put a couple of more in there if you work out that day.)
Eat only when hungry
If it’s not delicious, don’t eat it
Laugh more often
If you don’t love it, live without it
Don’t answer the telephone during dinner
Stop trying to please everyone
Start pleasing yourself
Stay away from negative people
Nurture friendships
Set achievable goals
Create boundaries
Express love every day

What is your mindset?

"Briefly, your mindset is the combination of your experiences, values,
beliefs, self-image, attitudes and habits that are lodged in your
unconscious mind. They determine every action and every result you
have in your life."
— James Arthur Ray

Your mindset is completely unconscious, and yet it is what drives all
your actions and results in your life. As James Ray points out, there
has been much talk about mindsets in the last ten years, however, very
few people know what they are and even less know how to address and
change them.

Success in change comes by dealing with the foundational cause in your
mindset. This means that even if you have the knowledge or the skills
to live a better or more successful life, if the underlying mindset
doesn't support that knowledge, change will not occur.

I am not suggesting that skills and knowledge are not important because
they are. But you can only utilize them if they are laid upon a firm
foundation of winning thought. This is much more than just motivation,
affirmations, or "positive thinking." If you want to change or improve
your results, you must change and improve yourself at the root or
causal level — your mindset! Long-term success is not just about
acquiring new skills ... it's about shifting your mindset.

Personal Integrity

“Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going
to know whether you did it or not.”
—Oprah Winfrey (1954 - )

Be true to yourself and live your life with integrity. This has been a
message that keeps popping up in my subconscious mind these days. So
what does it mean exactly? What is your truth and personal integrity in
day to day life? For most of us it is just a way of being. A way we
have always lived our lives. It’s not something that one has to even
really think about.

However, I have had to do some real soul searching to realize that I
have not always lived by being true to myself and living with
integrity. I didn’t always have well defined boundaries. I did what I
thought was best at the time for me, but that didn’t always include
what was best for everyone around me. This is a difficult realization
to make. But it was an important one for me to admit to myself so that
I could change my path.

These days I know that I am consciously and subconsciously doing the
right thing, even if no one else knows it — and even if no one else
believes it. And that is the point. It is for me alone to know because
that is the life I want to live.

What is your life purpose?

“For your life path to be fulfilling, passionate and joyous it requires
a connection between you and your spirit, from inside. It requires
connection with your body, mind, heart, and soul, and a courageous
willingness to express on the on the outside what is true for you on
the inside.”
— Janet Amare, Soul Purpose

A life purpose. I believe that we all have a very specific purpose for
our life. Most people get caught up in what their egos tell them they
should accomplish: fame, fortune, power, acceptance, etc. But even
those who have accomplished all of that sometimes come to realize there
is more to life. My daughter’s favorite actor, Will Smith, feels that
he is here to do more than entertain and make a fortune. He doesn’t
know what it is yet. But he is keeping his eyes open for all the clues
to present themselves.

Usually to find the real answers to “Why am I here?” you have to look
past what you do for a living. Your search must begin from the inside.
Understand in your exploration that your life purpose is more about
“being” something than “doing” something. Then you must follow the path
that your heart sets before you. It may take years of deep inner “soul”
searching before you find the true path to fulfilling your life
purpose, but every step you make along the way will take you a step
closer to the answer.

More on Miracles

"Miracles are natural; when they don't occur, something has gone wrong."
— A Course in Miracles

How many people believe in miracles? It seems sometimes that it is a
lost art in our world of technology and facts. Somewhere along the way,
through our schooling or our working, we get the impression that we
need to be in control of everything that happens, we need to understand
how everything happens.

One of my favorite movies, "Shakespeare in Love", has a character who
tells people who are worried about their outcome that "Somehow it will
work out." After when they question him about how he knew in the end
that all would be well, he simply replied, "It's a mystery!"

Reach out to that part of you that wants to believe in miracles. Have
faith that they do occur and that they should occur. And enjoy watching
the world through a new set of eyes as Einstein liked to observe,
"There are only two ways to look at life: One is as if nothing is a
miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle." Once you allow
this way of thinking into your life you will see how they show up
wherever you go.

The Money Mind Game

"Rich people think differently from poor and middle-class people. They
think differently about money, wealth, themselves, other people, and
pretty well every other facet of life." — Harv Eker.

Now this may seem like a very big generalization at first glance. And
for the most part it is. But Harv Eker is not saying that rich people
are better, he is just saying that they "think" differently.

Did any of you watch Oprah the other day when they featured the
documentary, Reversal of Fortune by filmmaker Wayne Powers, where
cameras follow Ted Rodrigue, a 45-year-old who has been periodically
homeless for the last 20 years? The question examined was what would
happen if one person actually was able to give someone $100,000 and the
free will to do with it what they wanted to do? Would that turn their
life around or would it create more problems?

Turns out that Ted's "financial blueprint", as Harv Eker would describe
it, was not easy to let go of even though he received financial
counseling to deal with his influx of money. He got a room but
continued to sleep on the floor. He still collected cans and bottles,
the primary way he'd survived for years. Ted says he not only spent or
gave away all $100,000, he actually owes more money now than he did
before.

The money game involves so much more than financial savy. It is about
the way you think about yourself, how you think about others, what are
your core beliefs about your life. If you are curious about your own
financial blueprint, do yourself a favor and start by reading Harv
Eker's book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. And then you can take it
one step further by attending one of his great seminars which really
can bring your blueprint to the table for you to rework as needed.

Small Gestures Equal Great Kindness

"When you are kind to someone in trouble, you hope they'll remember and
be kind to someone else. And it'll become like a wildfire."
— Whoopi Goldberg.

If you're financially well-off and can afford to give to worthy causes,
you are among the very fortunate. If you are still doing your best to
get to that place but not quite there yet, there are other ways to
share and contribute.

A smile, a loving touch or an acknowledgement of the unique qualities
in another, are simple gestures that lift spirits. If you want to do
more, how about starting a non-profit organization, volunteering your
time and talents (take a look at the great video we donated to
Grandview Children's Centre http://www.grtc.ca ), or helping in your
immediate neighborhood?

Many charitable organizations are always looking for volunteers. You
could be a Big Sister or Brother, or spend time with elderly or
terminally ill people. If you love animals, your local animal shelter
or one of the many wildlife preservation associations are good places
to look for meaningful work. There are truly limitless options that
require nothing more than a willingness to open your heart and extend
yourself. Giving creates a ripple effect, touching the lives of others
in more ways than we can imagine.