Live more joyfully - be like a river ; )

For me, so much suffering comes from my trying to over analyze situations, come up with ways to manipulate my life to be what I THINK I want it to be, and just plain over think things.  When I do this, my emotions become my compass, and then everything gets unbalanced fast.  During these emotional moments, it helps me realize that emotions are just that, emotions.  And so often, people orchestrate their lives to avoid painful emotions.  But it is when you take chances with your emotions, and accept that pain may come, (but know that it will also go) that you can really break through and have some beautiful experiences.  And I know I COULD get hurt if I allow myself to open up to potentially painful experiences (getting rejected by people or professional opportunities that challenge me), but what amazing experiences am I missing out on if that is the reason I don't take chances and live in the moment fully?  

The challenge is to just let the emotions come and go, and stay open to life.  Instead of hyperfocusing on the painful part,  focus on the good parts (your talents, family, friends, etc).  Think of your emotional experiences as a river.   Rivers take the path of least resistance. They hit a lot of rocks.  But they keep moving on.  They're not afraid of going over waterfalls.  That's the spectacular part, but also potentially the most painful part.  The river just keeps going.  It doesn't stick to that painful rock and say "Man, look at this painful rock.  Why is it happening?  I need to never run into a rock again.  I'm going to stay in this eddy and not go any further".  Or "Maybe I need to lug this rock around so it can't get in my way."  Rivers run into rocks but then just keep going. 

Those are some LARGE rocks.  Look how serenely the river flows past.  Impressive!

You're going to have emotions.  Don't hide from them or try to protect yourself from them.  Just experience them, and then MOVE ON!  How?  Live in the moment, and don't over-analyze past issues/problems/people/emotions.  Let go and let God.  Like the river that takes the path of least resistance, if you find a person or experience causes that you pain, that may be a sign that your river needs to flow elsewhere, to more supportive people, more edifying experiences, or you may need to refocus your energy on other talents or situations.  Take the path of least resistance to be in edifying, emotionally nurturing and/or healthily fun situations, just like a river.  It's that simple!   And remember, the river doesn't get to decide where it flows.  It just takes the path of least resistance.  It's up to God/the Universe to decide where it'll go. It's none of your business  to try to figure out what path your life takes.  Your business is to do what is most edifying to you with the current choices you have in front of you at the time.

Now get out there and LIVE LARGELY!!!

The Power of Visualization and/or Prayer

I am a HUGE believer in visualization/prayer.  I've seen it work over and over again for myself and others.  Call it prayer, meditation, communing with the Universe, talking to God; it's all the same thing in my book.  The hard part for me is being disciplined about it.  At one point in my life, I was very disciplined.  When I focused, it brought amazing results.  I visualized having plenty of money and all the things I would do if I was more financially well off.  I imagined making large deposits into my bank account.  And what happened?  My art REALLY took off.  Of course, I was painting a lot, but that's only half the battle.  People have to buy.  And they did.  I made more with my art than my regular 9-5 job!

Me in Costa Rica, during my disciplined visualizer, successful artist era (gonna make it happen again)

 I've also noticed that people who have achieved great things in their lives used visualization whether they knew what they were doing or not.  Before he got famous, Jim Carey used to go up in the foothills of Beverly Hills and look down at all the twinkling lights and visualize it being 'his town', with his name in lights, and people applauding his work.  My own father, who once lived in a simple cabin with no electricity or water, would sit looking out over the cotton fields and visualize a very different, more comfortable life for himself.  Now, he lives overlooking a beautiful lake and spends his days tending his roses instead of pulling cotton.  

This is my super-visualizing dad

So how does one visualize?  Start small.  It takes a lot of concentration and practice to stay focused on your new visualization practice.

1. Find a quiet place during a quiet moment in your day.  Five minutes will do
2. Close your eyes and focus all your senses on your breath.  How does it feel to breath in, what do you smell, how does it sound to breath? How does your body feel as you take the breaths?
3. As your mind relaxes, count 1 on the inhale and 2 on the exhale.  Do this for a couple minutes to further relax and focus your mind.
4. Now for the fun part.  Visualize yourself in the situation that you would like to have happen to you.  Engage all your senses.  What do you see, smell, hear, think, feel emotionally, or taste? Really focus on each of the five senses and try to make it feel as real as possible.  Do this for several moments and really savor the experience of living your dreams in your imagination.
5. Start living your visualization; want more money?  Start thinking of new ways to make it.  Want a new partner?  Join a club.  (meetup.com is a fun place to get started).  The more you start living your visualizations, even in small ways, the more effective you'll be.
6. Surround yourself with more positive energy.  Got naysayers?  Start seeking out those who support your dreams.  Have art in your house that has negative connotations?  Replace it with something more positive.  Feel impovershed in some way?  Focus on taking care of the wealth you already have (which may be in the form of health, friends, skills, knowledge, or even potential)  How can you expect to get the new when you're not taking care of the old?

I want to travel more, so I'm surrounding myself with positive travel energy by painting this, the Eiffel Tower.

Be sure to share your own 'success with visualization' story in the comments!

This blog is about a new journey I want to take, and perhaps bring a few others along. I've been in a rut for a while now, and want to do something new.  So this blog will be my attempt to keep myself focused on the larger goal: to live largely!  But that is a general term.  What exactly does that mean?  To ME, that means the ability to make enough money to be free to spend time with friends and family, to travel, and to develop the resources I need to have a family and not be financially stressed.  AND, let me not forget, I want to do all this by doing something I LOVE, not by the normal 9-5 grind.  So this blog is about my journey to accomplish this goal.  What is the first plan of attack?  Here we go:
1. Visualize
2. Blog regularly
3. Dedicate time to the new direction I want to go
4. Develop a plan for my new direction
5. Be disciplined and WORK my plan

I would love to hear from people out there if they are attempting to embark on a similar journey.  You may be going to a different place, but the whole point is, it's a whole different place from where you've been!