The Woman in the Mirror

Milestone Birthday:

The Woman in the Mirror
by Marilyn Jenett







Today, my birthday, December 7th, represents a milestone in history — Pearl Harbor Day. It also happens to be a shockingly clear milestone in my life. I won't reveal how many miles, but trust me, it's lots of stones indicating lots of miles.

The image in the mirror belies those travels, but the image in my mind and heart makes it pretty clear that our visit to this dimension is not indefinite (of course most teenagers will argue that fact).

It's become increasingly clear in my recent years that the most important benefit we can derive from these milestones is the ability to open ourselves to some greater meaning to our time here. Some people do this naturally and early. Most people are too darn busy with making money, making families, making careers, or just trying to make sense of it all to focus on a greater meaning for their existence.

I don't think I'm alone in wanting to make my time on this planet serve some purpose beyond myself. As I become aware of the multitudes of people who are opting out of passionless careers to enter some form of "healing" work, I know I'm not alone. And I don't mean healing from the standpoint of physical health, although that could be included. I'm talking about healing people's minds and spirits (and bank accounts), healing animals, healing the environment and the planet. The Universal parent that encompasses all of the above is...healing consciousness. And it all starts with healing our own.

Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror expressed this beautifully. He didn't write the lyrics but no other talent could have offered us the song with such brilliance. It represents a profound understanding of our individual capacity to care about others on a global level and to initiate change in the world by making the change within ourselves first. Below is the link to the performance that only Michael could deliver. It highlights some of the greatest people in our history who have changed our world (as well as some fainting teenagers).

Today we remember Pearl Harbor, but I'd also like to remember the "pearl harbored" by Michael's song.

This is all about becoming aware of what's transpiring beyond ourselves and our needs. This doesn't mean setting aside our own needs. To the contrary, I've discovered that not only by healing my consciousness can I heal others — but remarkably, by healing others, I heal myself!

We don't need to be a great talent or historical figure or even famous or global to do healing while we are here. A line from the Talmud, the book of Jewish law, reads: "Save one life, save the world." I don't know the Talmud, I've only heard of that line, but I think I now understand its meaning. I felt when I began to teach the Feel Free to Prosper program nine years ago, that if I could only help one person change their life for the better, it would all be worth it. It would be worth giving up a business making tens of thousands of dollars on a single corporate event in order to help individuals with the knowledge of how I changed my own life for the better. I became driven with the desire to give meaning to the time I have left here. I didn't forego the idea of making sizable profits. I merely decided to find a way to make those profits in a way that was consistent with my spiritually maturing values. I have no issues about even taking my teachings into the corporate world. Only the purpose now would be to prosper businesses with prosperity teachings, not elaborate partying (my former corporate business).

Today on this milestone birthday, I am taking a good look at the Woman in the Mirror and asking Infinite Intelligence for the guidance and direction to continue my chosen mission and further its success. I am asking for the ability to make the changes in my own consciousness that will make a difference for others too.

The Woman in the Mirror knows that success is not based on the latest brouhaha over marketing tools and networking skills or following every fad or trend like a lemming. She knows that success is born of a mother — Prosperity Consciousness — and a father — a Wisdom and Intelligence beyond our own. The rest are just details.

Anyone can talk to the Man or Woman in the Mirror. Milestone birthday optional.


 

I'm Starting With The Man In
The Mirror
 
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place

Take A Look At Yourself And
Then Make A Change

— Man In the Mirror
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9Nh84lfvW0

 

REPRINT PERMISSION

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, as long as the following text is included and the article appears in its entirety and unchanged.

© Copyright 2012 Marilyn Jenett, Feel Free to Prosper
All rights reserved

Marilyn Jenett, an accomplished business owner in the corporate arena, founded the Feel Free to Prosper program to mentor and teach others to become aligned with Universal laws and accept their right to prosper. For more information, visit www.FeelFreetoProsper.com.

Connecting to Source requires Surrender

According to Eckhart Tolle, connecting to Source requires Surrender — a Truth expressed in the "Tao of Leadership."

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need.
By yielding, I endure. The empty space is filled.
When I give of myself, I become more.
When I feel most destroyed, I am about to grow.
When I desire nothing, A great deal comes to me.

........

Some days are just waiting to be shared with like-minded souls who believe in fun and laughter! ... Happy day to you!
~Glenda

“It Takes One to Know One..”

“It Takes One to Know One..”
Nick Pfennigwerth

Have you ever heard the saying, “It takes one to know one?” I'm sure you have before. You were probably among a group of people and some moron was talking about last night's public address to the Nation. This guy was emphasizing on the opinion of how Obama is going to just raise taxes and create an even further pit fall for this Nation.

This person goes on and talks about Obama's unmoral ethics, his inability to lead a country, and his indecisiviness that will hurt our nation when it matters the most. “What about his plan for alternative fuels and new energy? What about his plan for Universal Health Care? How about his idea for creating new jobs?” You ask yourself. “He seems like a good leader to me.”

You sit there and observe how everyone is getting sucked in to this persons bashing of our President and all you see are the trance like stares and heads nodding and agreeing with every word coming out of this persons mouth.

As you sit there, at this political rally, you think to yourself, “Are you kidding me? These people voted for this person a year ago and now they are bashing him and labeling him unethical, a moron, unfit to run a country, indecisive, and so on.”
takes-one-to-know-one

Then, under your breath, you say, “I guess it takes one to know one.”

Somebody in the negative bashing group says, “Excuse me? Did you say something?”

You reply, “Oh-no...I was just thinking out-loud. It was nothing.”

Finally, you sit there for a few more seconds and say again, “It takes one to know one...It takes one to know one...Wait! It takes one to know one? Then, what does this say about me!?!”

You get up and exit stage right vowing to never participate in something like that again.

“It takes one to know one.” How true is that on so many levels? I began investigating the truth behind that saying and after what I've discovered, I decided to make that October's mantra for me.

Go ahead and write that down, “It takes one to know one”, and carry it around with you for a week. Whenever you think of something, say something, make an observation, judge, have an experience, or participate in an event, say to yourself, “It takes one to know one.”

When I did this, I started to become aware of the person I really was. I understood that there is no “out there” only “inside me.” In other words, you are the projector and the movie screen is your life. So, what movie are you projecting onto the screen of life?

I got so hung-up on this concept I tested it for a whole week. After listening to someone speak or observing an event or experience, I would say silently to myself, “It takes one to know one.” It was an obsession, but I had to know if it was an accurate way to measure my self image and projection of life.

Half of the time I didn't like what I've found. However, the other half I was pleased to say that I was proud of the movie playing on my screen.

It takes one (that's you) to know one (that's the person, place, event, or experience you are observing and labeling.)

Just the other day I was at the grocery store looking for the ingredients to ham and potato chowder. However, if you ask anyone in New Hampshire where the “chowder” mix is they'll give you a blank stare. You have to say “chowda”, then they'll give you precise and accurate directions to the goods (just teasing, I love New Hampshire :)

Anyway, I was browsing in the organic vegetable isle looking for a few organic onions and green peppers, when I couldn't help to over hear a conversation a woman was having with her daughter.

It went something like this. The Daughter (probably 8 years old): “Mommy...this onion looks good, I want that one.” The Mother: “Sweety, we are on a tight budget and near broke. We can't afford the organic food.”

I stood there for a few seconds thinking, “I can't afford it? Broke? She's programming her daughter to be part of the most widespread sickness of them all: poverty.” Judgment and label after label kept flowing into my mind until I caught myself and said, “It takes one to know one.”

Immediately my eyes popped! And I thought, “Holy s**t! I'm the very thing I'm judging and condemning!...It takes one to know one!”

Since it was in my experience, and I know that my experiences are nothing more than a projection of myself, then “It takes one..” (which is me) “to know one” (which is the Mother) means on some level that “being broke” or “can't afford it” was still part of me.

Now, what I just said is a tough pill to swallow. What I'm basically saying is you are not separate from anything. Everything you see and label outside yourself is an inner projection of your self image.

And I can back up that last paragraph with this simple question: “How can you label and judge anything without first thinking that judgment about yourself?”

Since the only thing you truly own is your thinking, then that judgment and label is a part owner of you.

O.k., how many readers dropped off after that statement? Stick with me, I promise this article is life transforming.

There was also a moment the other day when I was sitting in a canoe, all alone, in the middle of a lake in up-state Maine. I was completely off the grid with no cellphone service, no electricity, and no concept of time.
upstate-maine

I was sitting there, writing, and admiring the peace and beauty of the mountains, different color trees, and the picturesque, breath-taking view. I call it “God's Country” because this is something man can never create.

Then, I remembered my October's mantra and quietly said to myself, “It takes one to know one.” And a calming, loving peacefulness showered me and I thought, “Yea...it takes one to know one...” Meaning, if I can think and observe this vast beauty and peace, then I must be this beauty and peace.

I observed the beauty, I thought the beauty, therefore on some level I am the beauty.

Go ahead and try this out for a week. As best as you can, whenever you think something, judge, label, observe, interact, or have an experience, say to yourself, “It takes one to know one.” Then, understand that you are uncovering a truth about you. It's who you are!

If a reoccurring experience, judgment, or label keeps on happening, for example, you notice how many idiot drivers there are on the road each time you go out, then all I have to say is, “It takes one to know one!”

This is just a tool to help you uncover your truth --who you are. In other words, did you ever notice that when there is a problem you are there? You're there because the problem is you. Change yourself, change your world. Change the movie and the movie screen changes, too.

Since you attract who you are and not what you want, then you must know who you truly are, so you can change to who you want to become.

It takes one to know one.


Nick Pfennigwerth
Creative Wealth Building
http://www.creative-wealthbuilding.com/aboutme.html

Distinctive Ring Tones

Distinctive Ring Tones


So we see, to play successfully the game of life, we must train the imaging faculty. A person with an imaging faculty trained to image only good, brings into his life "every righteous desire of his heart" - health, wealth, love, friends, perfect self-expression, his highest ideals.

— Florence Scovel Shinn


In the film Tin Cup, Kevin Costner’s character proclaims, “When the defining moment comes along, you define the moment or the moment defines you.” We have been led to believe that life determines who we are, when at every moment we determine what our life is.

One strong metaphor for attuning to your unique guidance is the cell phone. Most people have a unique cell phone ring tone. We choose melodies and songs that we enjoy and that represent our unique taste and style. When cell phones first became popular, there were no distinctive tones, so when I stood in line at an airport, for example, a cell phone would ring and five people would each reach for their phone, in case someone was calling them. Now the rings are so distinctive that you reach for your call and not someone else’s.

Your soul’s calling also has a distinct tone. When your inner voice speaks to you it bestows a feeling of peace, ease, flow, aliveness, and a sense of coming home. By contrast, the voice of the ego, or fear, is burdensome, demanding, and disquieting. When considering whether to hearken to a voice within you, test its frequency. Is it broadcasting from fear, or love? Practice picking up the phone for love calls and refuse to answer the fear calls. As a Chasidic sage nobly stated, “Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him, and then choose that way with all his strength.”



Do you recognize the frequency of your own true inner voice?

Considering a decision before you, what does the voice of love say to you?


I listen to the my own true voice and I act on it with confidence.

I am always guided to my greater good.



Wisdom for Today © 2010 by Alan Cohen www.alancohen.com

The Stable Mule

The Stable Mule

Ranchers have a trick to deal with a corral of skittish horses: they place a mule in their midst. Mules are generally more relaxed and laid-back than horses, and they exert a calming influence on high-strung equines.

If you find yourself in the midst of a tense office, family gathering, or traffic jam, you serve yourself and those around you best by being the mule. Do whatever you can to keep yourself peaceful, no matter how crazy the people around you are getting. The person who is least upset is in the best position to recognize creative solutions helpful to everyone. Regardless of what action you take, inner peace is the greatest contribution you can make anywhere, anytime.

You can also apply this principle when you find yourself getting upset. While fearful or chaotic thoughts and feelings may be running rampant within you like spooked horses, you also have a calm mule inside you that can bring a soothing energy to your world if you invite it into the corral. If you start to feel frantic about anything, bring forth your inner mule.

Your life is an interplay of frequencies of experience. You have the power to choose frequencies that match your intentions. Inner peace is not a random event created by outer conditions. It is a purposeful experience created by inner choice.


The pure love of one person can offset the hatred of millions.

— Mahatma Gandhi


Alan Cohen

Why Do Pencils Have Erasers? Why Do Computers Have Delete and Backspace Keys?

Why Do Pencils Have Erasers?
Why Do Computers Have Delete and Backspace Keys?

One of my favorite anonymous quotes on perfectionism is “No one is perfect; that’s why pencils have erasers.” A recent review of the literature on perfectionism showed two distinct kinds. Normal perfectionism is a “sense of pleasure from painstaking effort and desire to excel while feeling free to be as less precise as the situation demands.” There is a standard of excellence without the neurotic excessive worrying.

Neurotic perfectionists spend a lot of time spinning their wheels and scolding themselves or others! They fall apart and sink into low self-esteem if they make a mistake. They hold the erroneous belief that perfectionism will automatically bring rewards but it only generates worry and grief.

Neurotic perfectionists usually have a higher list of shoulds that they try to impose on their partners and children. Perfectionism is learned behavior; people who had critical, perfectionistic parents learn to be judgmental themselves. They can become angry when their own needs are not met.

Neurotic perfectionistic beliefs have the highest of expectations that cannot be gained. People who are critical and controlling of others because of their unusually high standards have high anxiety and irritability within. They try to keep their nervous feelings down by trying to control the environment and the people in it. They harbor faulty beliefs that certain people are bad, stupid, evil, or do things wrong and it is their moral duty to correct them. They try to impose their values on others in order to keep their own nervous feelings at bay.

Critical statements start with the word “You” followed by an accusation and the insistence that someone else is doing something wrong. They are blame statements. They are all a form of the need for control which insists that “I get to tell you what to do.” Loss of connection and intimacy is always a by-product of the shoulds and demands of perfectionism.

My Critical Part has been Out Lately

“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor,” said Anne Lamott. Here is an exercise to help you look at your patterns of judgment and criticism. Write out the answers to help identify your beliefs that make you a controlling person.

One area that I criticize my partner/friend/child is:

When I feel that my needs are not met in this area, the unhealthy ways that I cope are:

What can I do to release my irrational idea that my happiness depends on you changing?

I am willing to observe and examine my behaviors that I’m upset with in you such as:

I pay attention. I interrupt my critical thoughts and words by: (Observation, introspection and meditation, Thought stoppage, The Emotional Freedom Technique, Deep breathing, etc.)

I perceive that others have criticized me for:

Some of the criticism is just. I am willing to acknowledge that I:

I am willing to observe and examine these behaviors that are upsetting to others:

When you come to the fork in the road after an upsetting incident, you can go to blaming or to problem solving. So look to your beliefs and how they make you miserable or contented. The need to control another person’s actions can be understood, analyzed and channeled into higher-level responses which promote healthy interactions for all involved. The next time that you have an unrealistic expectation of someone and a subsequent angry outburst, ask yourself two questions. Am I just acting out of perfectionistic habit needs? Did my action celebrate life or harm life?

Remember, if you reach for the stars and beat yourself up for not getting them, you will end up clutching at air and being pretty darned depressed!

Challenge your negative thoughts and impractical and unworkable demands. Anytime you do something to calm yourself instead of running the turmoil created by your critical nature ego, you are doing affect regulation. Anytime you tell yourself something helpful, you are doing positive self-talk and Thought Stoppage, thus increasing self-esteem. Yeah! You are on the road to positive thinking and living. Author Wayne Dyer says, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Working your mind works. It only works when you work it!

Peace and joy,

Lynne Namka, Ed. D. © 2010



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Ideas taken from the research article, The destructiveness of perfectionism. Implications for the treatment of depression, by Prof. Sidney J. Blatt and The Perfectionist’s Script for Self-defeat (article) by David D. Burns.


My book, Good Bye Ouchies and Grouchies, Hello Happy Feelings: EFT for Kids of All Ages has a companion book. Teaching Emotional Intelligence to Children: Fifty Fun Activities for Parents, Teachers and Therapists gives lesson plans plus EFT tapping statements. Go to http://members.aol.com/AngriesOut/newbooks.htm#ouchies to order the set of both books at a discounted rate.

Embrace Conflict by Cheryl Richardson

Embrace Conflict by Cheryl Richardson


It's a beautiful, spring-like day here in the Northeast and it feels good to be home enjoying the sun and warmth. Michael and I returned from Paris last week after a business trip that gave us the opportunity to visit places like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. The beauty and grandeur of Paris is beyond words.

During our vacation I was struck by a feeling I often experience when I travel - conflict. While I enjoyed the sights and sounds of Paris and the magical experiences we encountered, I also missed the beauty and comfort of our home (and, of course, our cat, Poupon). The feelings for both were equally strong.

Several times during the week I had to stop and re-center myself in the present moment to take full advantage of our time in Paris. When I did, I found myself recalling a message I heard long ago from a teacher who has had a profound influence on my life and my work. Her name is Marion Woodman and she used to tell us that wholeness comes from learning to "hold the tension of the opposites."

We live in a world of duality. There's daylight and nighttime, summer and winter, good and evil. It's the nature of living as a human being on earth to deal with the tension of opposites. And yet, navigating the complex feelings that come from holding this tension can be stressful and challenging at best. You interview for a new job, for example, and find yourself anxiously waiting to hear how you did while knowing that at the same time you need to be patient and detached from the outcome. Or, you try to be a good parent by encouraging your son to go out into the world to live a full, rich life, while everything inside you begs to hold tight to keep him safe.

How do we hold the tension of the opposites and still thrive and enjoy our lives? What can we do to make this experience less stressful? Here are a few things that helped me:

Give voice to your feelings. As I grappled with mixed emotions during the trip, I felt alone and a little crazy. After all, here I was in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and part of me wanted to be home. It didn't make sense. But, once I stopped suffering in silence and shared my thoughts with Michael, I discovered that he felt it, too. Sharing my feelings and knowing I wasn't alone immediately made me feel better.

Honor the opposites. Rather than judge one side as better or worse than the other, give both parts of you equal consideration. I spent some time by myself writing about the traveler in me who was thoroughly enjoying seeing new places, meeting new people, and having new adventures. And I also wrote about the other part that loved our home, missed Poupon, and wanted the comfort and peace of familiar routines. What I soon discovered was that giving time and space to both parts of me made me feel stronger and more capable of being with the tension.

Strengthen your ability to hold both. Once I felt stronger, I had a glimpse of what Marion was talking about when she said that "wholeness" comes from holding the tension of the opposites. Rather than try to exorcise or ignore my uncomfortable feelings, I needed to see the choice to be with both as a kind of "inner training session." As I centered myself in the tension, I imagined weaving parts of me together into a stronger, more mature woman. By doing this I was developing an emotional muscle that would ultimately allow me to bring more of who I am to the world.

I hope this makes sense. As is often the case, I'm working it out as I write. I know I'm not alone, though. We're all faced with the task of living with opposing feelings and experiences. It's what we do with it that matters most. My intention is to master the art of holding myself in the beauty and possibility of the in-between world. And I invite you to join me ☺.


Take Action Challenge

This week, identify an inner conflict that reflects two different parts of you. Then, talk to someone about it. Share your feelings and experiences. Give time and attention to both parts by writing about them in a journal or notebook. Finally, find an image that reflects the strength of holding the tension and allow this image to inspire you to stay steady and strong.

One Day by Matisyahu

One Day by Matisyahu
Musician Matisyahu is the personification of harmony. He is a Hasidic Jewish musician from New York City known for blending traditional Jewish themes with reggae, rock, and hip-hop sounds. He pushes musical boundaries by incorporating a variety of genres to create unique sounds with deep messages that aim to unite and uplift. Matisyahu once said, "All of my songs are influenced and inspired by the teachings that inspire me. I want my music to have meaning, to be able to touch people and make them think. Chasidism teaches that music is 'the quill of the soul.' Music taps into a very deep place and speaks to us in a way that regular words can't." Listen to one of his latest songs 'One Day', which he created as an anthem for hope and a source of inspiration for people struggling to open their hearts and stay positive.

Be The Change!

Like The Sun Shining by Tenzin Palmo

Like The Sun Shining
by Tenzin Palmo

Sometimes people don't understand how Buddhism can talk about compassion and love in one breath and non-attachment and all these qualities of renunciation in the other breath. But that's because we confuse love with clinging. We think that if we love somebody, the measure of our loving is that we want to hold on to them. But that's not love, that's just self-love, attachment. It's not genuinely loving the other person, wanting them to be well and happy that's wanting them to make us well and happy. This is very important, because we confuse it all the time.

When I was nineteen years old I told my mother, "I'm going to India" and she said, "Oh yes, when are you leaving?" She didn't say, "How can you leave me, your poor old mother, now you've got to the age when you're earning a living, how can you go and abandon me?" She just said, "Oh yes, when are you leaving?" It was not because she did not love me, it was because she did. And because she loved me more in a way than she loved herself, she wanted what was right for me, not what would make her happy. Do you understand? Her happiness came by making me happy.

That's love, and that is something which we all need very much to work on in our personal relationships. To hold people and possessions like this (hands outstretched to indicate holding something lightly in the palms) and not like this (fists clenched to indicate holding something very tightly). So that when we have them, we appreciate and rejoice in them, but if they go then we can let them go. Change and impermanence is the nature of everything.

You see, when we lose something we love, it's our attachment which is the problem, not the loss. That's what causes us grief. And that is why the Buddha taught that with attachment comes fear and grief. We have the fear of losing, and then we have the grief when we lose. Buddha never said that love causes grief.

Love is an opening of the heart. It's like the sun shining. The sun just naturally shines. It doesn't discriminate, shining on this person but not on that one. It just shines, because it's the nature of the sun to give warmth. Some people go inside and close the doors and windows; that's their problem. The sun is shining anyway. And it's that quality of heart which we have to develop. That quality of open, unconditional loving, no matter what. I'm going to love you if you do this but I'm not going to love you any more if you do that parents do that, when their children don't obey.

--Tenzin Palmo

"You are no more or less ... " -Rasha

Dare to be Yourself ... by Paul Hoffman

Who am I? What do I want? What level of consciousness am I living from? These are great questions to ask yourself as you begin to usher in the dawn of a new day. The absolute truth in answering these questions is simply you are brilliant, magnificent, genius, caring, loving, kind, extraordinary, unstoppable, successful, creative, giving, generous, supportive, nurturing, confident you get the picture. You are all these qualities and so much more in every moment of your day. I ask you today to "Dare To Be Yourself" and bring out all these awesome qualities and values of who you are in all you do. When you do, life will begin to take on a new color and vibration of abundance and prosperity in every aspect of your being so that the person you really are emerges powerfully in all your relationships as you communicate the joy of being who you are.

There is no holding back the divine inspiration that you are. You can only be that which you believe you are. When you lose focus and clarity about the true authentic being you are then thoughts of lack and limitation creep in. You must have the courage to be steadfast in your commitment to living in your excellence. You must have the determination to stay the course in the journey you have chosen so that the vision in your heart becomes your reality. You must believe in yourself so you will receive all the divine intelligence that is encouraging you to keep stepping into your brilliance. There can be no other way to be. It is all within you right here and now to have it all. All you need to to do is "Dare To Be Yourself" and watch as the most amazing thing happens. YOU will be given the keys to the castle and your life will become all that you have dreamed it could be. Try it you'll like it!

"The first choice you should make each day is to be committed to be the blessing you are so that everyone will get to share in the magnificence of who you are."

I AM ready to show up in all my power
I AM open to the calling of my heart
My dream is the reality I see in my life today
I AM committed to the full expression of who I AM
I see the road ahead with focus and clarity
I AM full of infinite opportunities and possibilities
There is magic everywhere
I LOVE ME!

It's your day...MAKE IT A GREAT ONE!

-Paul Hoffman

"Everyone is searching for happiness ..." by Dick Sutphen

Everyone is searching for happiness, but happiness is found internally, not externally. It is generated by finding enjoyment in pursuing your goals, by accepting what is, and by believing in yourself.

Dick Sutphen