Chi For Yourself

Overheard

“You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” 
― Gautama Buddha

On this last full day of visiting my place of birth, there are a couple of things that stand out. One is the constant presence of fear and scarcity. No surprise, really. I can remember the “lessons” those two offered throughout my youth. This is a common feature of growing up and in fact you may have experienced it yourself. In this atmosphere you can’t help getting a sense of widespread low self-esteem.

Studies have shown that many people to some degree lack self-worth, self-esteem, and confidence. This negative self-image lives on when paired with the feeling that the future will be a copy of their disappointing past. This can leave a person tapped out of joy and vitality. On the other hand, a healthy level of self-esteem and confidence brings optimism about the future and an experience of joy and happiness in the here and now. The result is a feeling of deserving the best that life has to offer.

I have heard Dr. Wayne Dyer, among others, say “you become what you think about all day long.” Your happiness level will be a reflection of your expectations and self-image. What happens to you today and in the future has a direct connection to your expectations. Hold on to low self-esteem and confidence and your situation becomes no better or even worse. Often this is when sabotage creeps in to ensure an outcome in line with our expectations. You were “right” after all!

Expect more of the same outcome you’ve experienced in the past and you’ll get it. Rather, be observant. Monitor your conversation with yourself. Avoid phrases like, ‘with my luck I won’t _______’, or ‘I’m not very good at_________’. Believe in yourself and expect a positive future. You can bring the best life has to offer into your own life. This is not Pollyanna..it’s law..Universal Law. You can make the outcome as good as or even better than you expected. It’s up to you.

JohnK 5/30/2013
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Home for the holidays! It has a nice ring, doesn’t it? But going home can be a mine field for those on the consciousness road. I grew up during the television generation. For me, holiday thoughts bring up visions of a beer commercial!- big sleigh pulling up to a rural house on a winter evening, going inside to enjoy a roaring fireplace and a delicious meal. You may be planning a trip home for the holidays, or just making a periodic visit. If so, there are some things you’ll want to keep in mind.

I’m in the fifth day of a nine day trip to the northeastern United States. It’s the area where I was born and raised. It’s the type of visit you can look forward to and dread at the same time. No matter how many times you’ve gone home you tend to hope the next visit will be different, but you also have that voice in the back of your head that says things will probably be the same. Dad will be on your case for not having a “real job”.  Mom will reprimand you as though you’re an unruly teenager. Aunt Irene will be doing her awful best at getting into other people’s business. I don’t have the kinds of family drama you might encounter, but I do tend to secretly hope that things will somehow be different.

A life dedicated to awakening and living consciously brings great insight and moments of exhilaration. But trying to carry that awareness back to your birthplace can turn exhilaration to frustration in a heartbeat. The truth is that most people don’t share your vision. Like minds seem hard to find. Stating your reality brings stares of confusion.  Meditation, yoga, juicing..all seem like foreign concepts in a foreign land.

As a response I’m offering these five keys to staying centered and maintaining your serenity:

1. Do not expect people to be different than they are. Instead, send them love for being who they are and for doing the best they can.

2. Maintain your boundaries and when those boundaries are challenged respond honestly and with kindness.

3. Remember the reason you’re making the visit. You want have positive exchanges, share experiences, and radiate love. Don’t make it a time of judging, demanding, and holding on to old slights and grudges.

4. You may be asked a lot of questions about your life. Answer them from your heart and without falling back into unhealthy family patterns. You are your own person and as such you are living from your own sense of vision and values.

5. Be willing to cut the visit short! The last thing you want to do is create a scene. Take yourself out of the mix before you say or do something that doesn’t come from your genuine self.

Keep your reason for the visit clear- to have a happy time and to send love to everyone. And, when the visit is over allow yourself some time to unwind. Even if all went well you can spend a few moments savoring the satisfaction of knowing you are sending your true self out into the world.

JohnK 5/27/2013

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I hope you had a chance to hear the interview with Eric Maisel. We talked about dealing with challenges to creativity. Creative “types” come under this heading, though we looked at the question of whether there really is a creative “type.” In either case, I think we established that you can bring a creative flair to just about any endeavor.
Here’s the interview:

A few notes:
…ever get to the store checkout line and be asked “how are you?”..think about your answer. Words are powerful. Instead of ‘not bad’ or ‘getting by’, try ‘great, thanks!’ Seems like a little thing but it can put more energy (+ or -) into your day.
…saw this while reading something else.. Every time you hear something grim on the news, take a moment and surround that crisis or challenge with a pink bubble of unconditional love. Then do this with every problem you have. Sending love is a powerful tool to assist in the transformation of our planet. Hmmmmmmm!
…don’t forget, you are a conscious creator.

A reminder, the Chi For Yourself scheduled guest for the week of June 13th is Maggie Oman Shannon,  author of Crafting Calm. I plan to stream the interview on chiforyourself.com on June 13th at 1pm Pacific time, with podcast availability on Friday June 14th.

Be well!

Featured article: a guest post from Clifford Woods

What exactly does “organic” mean?

by Clifford Woods

Meaning of Organic
Very simply – organic products are grown without using synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, genetically modified organisms, sewage sludge, or ionized radiation. Animals that produce poultry, meat and eggs as well as dairy products do not take any growth hormones or antibiotics serve as the organic meat and milk food sources. This might sound way too simple to believe to many people, but this remains the fact; organic simply refers to the products nourished naturally, without the addition of any synthetic chemicals into them.
 
What Sets ‘Organic Products’ Apart?
 
Organic products mean that only natural ingredients are used – nothing synthetic or artificial. The buying of organic food has become a worldwide trend, as consumers aim to spend money on products they believe that they can relate to and trust. This means to know precisely where the country of origin is, how it is processed, and what type of ingredients constitute a product. Without such information at your disposal, you better avoid buying any product labeled ‘organic’, since that might not truly be one.
 
Organic vs. Inorganic
 
Millions of consumers flock to the farmers’ markets and grocery stores spending their dollars and faith in the assurance of organic food being healthier. But there is still a debate around the true value of “organic” and this debate has yet to reach any definitive conclusion. This returning to a “natural diet” tempers shoppers’ interests so much that they have created a worldwide organic market valued at about $48 billion in 2007 and continues to expand till date.
 
Which Apple to Choose
 
Once only found in stores for healthy food, today organic foods are now a normal feature at the majority of supermarkets. In the product section can be found apples; one is a regularly grown apple and the other one is the organic. Both apples are shiny, firm, and red. Both offer vitamins and fiber and both are free of fat, cholesterol, and sodium. Which apple should you choose? Produce that is conventionally grown usually costs less, but is organic food really healthy, safer or more nutritious?
 
Organic Methods
 
The word “organic” denotes to the methods that the farmers use to grow and process farming products, such as fruits, vegetables, meat, grains, and dairy products. Practices for organic farming are created to boost soil and water savings and reduce toxic waste. Farmers growing organic meat and produce do not use the normal ways to avert livestock disease, fertilize, or control weeds. Instead of using weed killer chemicals, organic farmers conduct more refined rotations of crops and spread manure and mulch to keep weeds away, adhering more to more natural ways.
 
Labeling of Organic Items
 
Products containing more than 70% organic ingredients may or can say “made with organic ingredients” on their label, but they are not allowed to use the 100% certified seal. Any foods that contain less than 70 percent of organic ingredients cannot use either the term “organic” or the 100% seal on their labels. They can though, display the items that are organic in their ingredient list.
 
Clifford Woods is the Executive Director of Vibrant Life. See more information at http://www.oralchelation.com and http://www.vibrantlifemsm.com/

JohnK 5/20/2013

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Earth Day 2013

I wanted to pass along some of my own thoughts on Earth Day. For me, the secret sauce of this day and of so many approaches to life is a change of consciousness. This is especially true in light of the rapidly accelerating upheaval of change that has left so many bewildered and wondering what is going down in their world.

Listening to internet radio this past weekend and reading the words of some of our most evolved voices of change it re-enforced my feeling that real change and real improvement in the human condition begins on the inside. I appreciate (and thank) those groups and individuals who take a macro view in nursing our ailing planet back to health. Clean air, clean water, sustainable living models and respect for all sentient beings deserve our top of mind attention. In these pages and on each episode of Chi For Yourself for that matter I’ve chosen to work ‘from the inside out’, as I like to call it. I think it’s important for us to change the conversation we have with ourselves. Changing our concepts can affect the inner universe and radiate outward to touch those around us and onward into the world. Think the ‘butterfly effect’, based on the theory that a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world might ultimately cause a hurricane in another part of the world.

Speaking of consciousness, here’s a good Earth Day offering from rappler.com:

MANILA, Philippines – Today, April 22, is Earth Day. Leadership and personal and organizational speaker Ken O’Donnell offers some penetrating insights on the global ecological problems that we now face:

• “Our true work goes way beyond the cost-benefit discussion of environmental programs. It also goes beyond the discussion about the needs of other living beings or the debate about what sustainable development really means.”
• “Our capacity to change ecosystems is proportional to our capacity to change our own consciousness.” Read more..  

  And, this from the Huffington Post:

  Recent droughts, hurricanes and floods have made us more and more aware of the reality of climate change, and the disastrous environmental effect of our industrialized, materialistic civilization. As our world stumbles to the brink of ecological collapse — the “tipping point” of irreversible climate change — sustainability has become a vital issue. But before we can respond we need to recognize what Earth we are trying to help, what ecosystem we are working to sustain. Read more..

   

  And, from the Scranton, Pennsylvania Times-Tribune:

  Today we dwell on energy efficiency, flood and drought, carbon emissions, local food, collapsing colonies of bees and bats and the need to do things differently.

  Local educators who guide people toward living sustainably teach those Earth Day lessons every day in classrooms, worship spaces and community gardens. The idea is to make environmental consciousness a daily habit, inseparable from consciousness.

  “If the environment is this vague external concept that’s somewhere else, you’re not going to try to take those baby steps,” said Rabbi Daniel Swartz, the spiritual leader of Temple Hesed, who incorporates environmental lessons into this religious teaching. Read more..

  Happy Earth Day!

   

  John K 4/22/2013

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We’re winding down the declutter process and today we’ll talk a little about where you’re spending your time and attention. ‘What does that have to do with clutter’, you ask? Well it’s possible to clutter your life with the things and people you commit to and the thoughts you choose to hold.

Your time is parceled out to various needs- family and home life, friends, religious and neighborhood. Make a list of your commitments. It might surprise you to actually see where your time goes. I like to use the 80-20 approach. This is called Pareto’s Principle, after the guy who is credited with inventing it. I look for the roughly 80 per cent of time well-spent from 20 per cent of my endeavors. If you can put this to work for yourself you can keep the good stuff in your life and shed those efforts and thought burners that are a drain on your time. Look at your list and decide whether each item really brings you enjoyment and value. Ask yourself if all of these things are worth your time. Be honest, and know that separating from some of your ‘time vampires’ might mean saying “NO” to someone-you may have to be less accommodating in the way you budget your time.

If your daily schedule has no rhyme or reason it might be time to add a little structure to the mix. Start to bundle your tasks. Instead of driving to the grocery store for different items on different days of the week, set up a schedule that lets you ‘make the rounds’ and get all of your items in one trip. A list would do nicely here. Post it where you can see it and follow it. Structure just might bring a new sense of serenity and order to your life.

JohnK 4/18/2013

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“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

– Leonardo DaVinci