Grand Canyon, Arizona

Moraine Lake, Canada

Athabasca Glacier, Canada

Introversion
The ability to enjoy one's own company is one of the greatest gifts life has to offer. Learning to turn my thoughts away from all my responsibilities at the day's end and take my mind into a state of peace and benevolence enables me to carry greater and greater loads without feeling the burden. When my inner landscape is full of beautiful thoughts, everything I do is a pleasure. Gently, I calm down chaotic situations and offer solace to troubled minds.



- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Trustee Consciousness
We all have a relationship with everything. Obviously the relationship we have with the people and objects in our immediate vicinity is more intimate than the rest of the world. For most of us the most common relationship is possession.

In our minds we think we own and possess things like cars and houses and carpets and golf clubs etc. This thinking easily spreads into jobs and tasks and positions and perhaps even other people. "I want you", and "You are mine alone", is the essence of many romantic film scripts and song lyrics.

It is not possible to possess anything. Care for..yes. Use...yes. But possess...no. You can't take it with you when you go, so we say! And yet it's the idea of possession which lies at the heart of all fear, war and conflict. Can you see it? Fear of loss, fear of not acquiring what we have already decided is ours in our minds.

So what is a better relationship we can choose which takes all the fear away? Be a trustee. Everything comes to us in trust, for us to use and then to set it free. The consciousness of trustee sets us free of the tension of grasping and guarding. To see ourselves as trustees of everything that we receive, including our bodies, encourages our innate capacity to 'care for with dignity'. It is a much more relaxing way of relating to the things which we are privileged to receive in life.





- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Transform Negativity

The energies of life come to meet us at every moment. Most come from other people who either in the same room or on the flickering, technicolour screens with which we now share most of our homes.

The vast majority of these energies are not positive. So how do we handle the 'the negatives', whether it's someone's attitude, their hurtful gestures or our daily dose of world violence and mayhem.

There are three cardinal rules.

• First, do not absorb it - don't be an emotional sponge.

• Second do not reflect it back. Otherwise you begin a cycle of emotional exchanges which may last a long time.

• And third, do the one thing which marks us as intelligent human beings - transform it.
  

Even if the scene is a disaster there is some benefit somewhere in it. Even if you are watching two peoples beliefs or opinions slug it out to the edge of violence don't take sides. Instead offer a solution then stand well back. Even if the person hates you, accept their state of being and return the light of love. In time, with patience, it will illuminate their darkness, and return to you by the bucketful! Just wait.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

In this life, you cannot be responsible for anyone's happiness but your own.




- unknown -

Plain Sailing
The wind may blow from any direction, but the direction in which you go depends on how you set your sails.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Be too big for worry and too noble for anger.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

The Spirit of Generosity
Generosity means more than just giving. It also means to cooperate with others. The greatest act of generosity is to see beyond the weaknesses of others and ourselves, helping all of us to recognize our innate value.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Help Yourself
Unfortunately these two words tend to describe the generally selfish and materialistic culture in which most of us live. They result not in self-help but in dependency. Our education and our role models do not encourage us to help ourselves to grow, change and expand our capacities as human beings. Real self-help means recognising that no one else is responsible for our thoughts and feelings, and that we are only ever victims because we choose to be. Our destiny is always and only in our own hands - despite all apparent evidence which may indicate otherwise. Learning to help ourselves is also a prerequisite to extending a hand of assistance to others. We all need a leg up from time to time, but once there, we are always on our own.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Family & Friends
It's often said that charity begins at home. So let me first give respect to my family and friends.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

True Nature
The true nature of every human being is kindness.



- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Imperishable Wealth
The wealth of a rich man can be stolen or burnt, but the happiness and wisdom of the wise remain.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Have Faith
Have the faith that, despite appearances, people are doing the best they can.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Treasure Every Moment
Treasure every moment that you have. Remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow a mystery. Today is a gift... That's why it's called the present.





- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Smile
Of all the things you wear, your smile is the most important.



- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Be Reluctantless!
We have a tendency to make significant choices in our lives and then forget that we actually made the choice. Work is such a choice. If we forget to choose the work we do then each day of our life can easily be an experience of continuous reluctance.

Would you choose to live your life reluctantly? Every time you use the words ‘have to’ you are telling the universe you would rather not be where you are and you’d rather not do what you are doing at that moment. And if you keep thinking in this way in one area of your life, it becomes a habitual thought pattern which you soon find turning up in your attitude every where in your life.

And if you keep thinking, feeling, saying and living with this pattern of reluctance you can be absolutely sure the universe will eventually grant your recurring wish. But you will like the result even less. Nothing positive, fulfilling or empowering was ever created with the energy of reluctance.

Don’t be reluctant about anything in your life today. Re-affirm your presence and your choices every day.



- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Cripple Effect
What goes around comes around is not a new insight. It is something most of us intuitively know but easily forget, as we attempt to hold on to most things which come to us. What we don't realise is the ripple effect can easily become the cripple effect.

Everything we think and do not only ripples out into the world, it also creates an impression on our own consciousness inside. If one day you decide to get really angry (very unrelaxing) at someone, then you create a memory of your irritation and carve a kind of scar or groove on your consciousness (non-physical of course). Within this scar or groove is a recording of the image of the person as you have decided to perceive them, and the energy of your anger surrounding that image. Remember, you put it there, not them.

Two days later you see the same person and that triggers the image and the anger which you have already recorded within. The emotional turbulence inside your consciousness makes it very hard for you to remain positive, connect and communicate effectively, positively and harmoniously with them. In effect you are crippled and clouded by your own emotion. Most of us experience this, sometimes many times a day, but refuse to see that we cripple ourselves, preferring to blame the other person. Which is why we can stay crippled for a long time and not even realise it.



- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Character
When you do not upset yourself thinking about how others must change and instead you concentrate on your own change, good things start to happen. First, you will feel better about yourself. Second, you will start to have positive feelings towards others and start to understand them. Third, others start having a more positive attitude towards you.






- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Meditation
Though the mind often asks for what is visible or material, its needs are deeper and cannot be met by anything superficial or short term. Meditation leads to a meeting point with all that is true and eternal.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Today I will enjoy the fact that we are all different.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Think First
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Whatever I do, when all is said and done, I do for or to myself. Perhaps I should think before I perform actions because after the seed of action is sown I have to reap the fruit. Moreover, I do not receive only one fruit for every seed sown, I often get a whole crop, good or bad according to the action or seed.



- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Cheerfulness
The one who possesses cheerfulness becomes like a magnet of goodwill.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Humility
Humility grows a little more each time I step away from my own feelings and opinions and genuinely listen to the experience of another human being. Humility is dedication to the extent that no acknowledgement is sought for the self. Only when I have learned to value others no more or less than I value myself can I be said to be truly humble.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Harmony
All things have their time. All things have their answers. All things have their right to be. Accepting this reality, all things come into harmony.



- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Never Battle
Never fight. Nothing is worth fighting for. Wisdom never fights, it waits patiently, speaks positively, releases easily, sees benefit in everything and envisions a future of abundance...knowing that all needs will be met at the right moment, in the right way. If you think life is a struggle you will always be struggling, If you think life is a breeze, your attitudes and actions will convey lightness and easiness.



- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Gentleness is not a lack of strength but a great power that doesn't force or disturb.





- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Balance
The indication of balance in life is a sense of well-being, optimism and a clear conscience. The foundation for achieving this is to look after myself spiritually - making my mind peaceful, loving and thoughtful at all times. Then I will instinctively know how much time to spend on my own well-being and how much on fulfilling other responsibilities. I can only give my best to others when I am myself at my best.





- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

New Year's day is every person's birthday!



Charles Lamb

Giving good wishes to others acts like sunlight, filtering into the dark corners of their mind and lightening their burden.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

To welcome an enemy is to take the opportunity to expand my heart.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Embrace Change
When you are aware and accept that everything around you is constantly changing, and that you have no control over 99.99% of it, you are able to embrace change like a close friend! Change is a like a river, constantly flowing and moving things around. The river of life is constantly bringing you ideas, people, situations – each one is an opportunity to be enriched or to enrich others, and to learn. Change is the play of the universe as it entertains us in the biggest light and sound show of all time. Why not sit back and enjoy the show!




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

No matter how dark the situation, let me always hold on to the steady light of hope.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

No matter how bad people may seem, they possess at least one virtue. Be like the humming bird and pick out the sweetness of everyone's character.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Instead of speaking too much and wasting your energy, become experienced in the sweetness of introversion.





- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

When you send good wishes and pure feelings to those who are in deep sorrow, that is an attitude of mercy. When you see the virtues rather than the weaknesses in people that is an attitude of compassion. When you bless and uplift someone even as they defame you, that is an attitude of forgiveness. When you tolerate a situation and take responsibility as well as give cooperation even when not appreciated, that is an attitude of humility and self-respect. Every second, every moment and every breath of your life is nurtured by attitude.



- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Manners

A person of wisdom and spirituality has very beautiful manners that have grown from genuine respect and love for the whole of humanity. Manners in this sense have nothing to do with culture or education: it is simply a question of humility. When we are at the receiving end of such manners, we feel that some deeper part of us has been honoured. In fact, none of us deserves anything less.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Be Tolerant
You have the power to tolerate anyone and any situation. But tolerance is not just suffering in silence. It means going beyond any personal discomfort you may feel, and giving a gift to whom ever you would tolerate. Give your time, attention, understanding, compassion, care - all are gifts, which paradoxically, you also receive in the process of giving.



- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Kindness
Great souls take advantage of every moment and every opportunity to give happiness to others through kindness in their thoughts; such souls are willing to overlook weaknesses and mistakes and have the desire to help everyone reach their potential.



- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Expand My Heart
To welcome an enemy is to take the opportunity to expand my heart.





- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Silence
Silence is not a lack of communication. There is a subtle language that connects us to one another through the eyes, with a smile, or a gesture. In moving into an inner space of silence, we are attuning ourselves to the spirit of nature and letting go of the tendency to be critical. Silence provides the opportunity for me to identify the qualities in myself that have the capacity to transform me. In silence I can connect to the highest quality of my lightest, clearest thinking. In silence I can listen to the call of God, the call of nature, the call of others in need.



- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Start Early
The best time to awaken both body and spirit is in the early morning. We are fresh, in solitude, and the vibrations of the world are at their calmest. It is not surprising that you will find all experienced meditators and yogis up with the dawn, inviting the sun of spirit to shine into the heart of their soul. The first half hour of conscious awareness will be the foundation of your day. Make an early start. Meditate, set the switch of your consciousness and calibrate your energy for the day. You'll be surprised the difference it makes.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Be At Peace
You spend most of your life running after things, doing things. You forget that being comes before doing. Those who remember this secret make an effort to "be" and discover that when they stop and observe, life helps and brings whatever is needed. Learning to be is learning to be at peace. It is our most fundamental nature.





- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Be Content
Wherever I am is wherever I am meant to be, whatever I am doing is whatever I am meant to be doing and whatever everyone else is doing is exactly what they are meant to be doing - this is contentment. If you do want to change where you are, or what you are doing, the first thing is to be content with wherever you are and whatever you are doing right now! Paradoxically that's what attracts opportunities and invitations to be somewhere else! Why? Because you are a living magnet, and contentment is one of your most attractive qualities. And the law of attraction says that according to your dominant thoughts so you will attract the people and circumstances into your life. Being content right now attracts the best possible future.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

A Caring Heart
I express my care and concern by responding to situations with a cool head and to people with a warm heart. If I remain aware that as fellow human beings we are all part of one family, and that even the smallest of gestures can make a difference in people's lives, I am always blessed with a caring heart. It takes so little to show that I care yet it can mean so much.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

If you miss an opportunity, do not cloud your eyes with tears; keep your vision clear so that you will not miss the next one.





- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Be Gentle
Non-violence is a very deep philosophy. Not only does it require me to harm no one physically, but also to avoid harming anyone's self-respect. Such an ethic requires tremendous awareness and sensitivity. When I have learned to be gentle with myself, I can be the same with others.



- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

Live Fully
They say 'only fools live to the full'. Because only fools go where most of us fear to go, only fools do what many of us spend our lives avoiding. You don't have to climb Mount Everest, or cross the world in a hot air balloon to live to the full. Simply enter each day with a commitment not to avoid anything or anybody who comes your way. Then your Everests will come to you, in the form of difficult people and challenging situations, and the only thing you will need to conquer is our own fear and evasions. And when you do conquer, you will know that you have lived fully, for there is nothing more exhilarating than overcoming our own obstacles which, if the truth were known, are always only in our own minds. When you turn to face these inner obstacles and challenges some people call this real courage and you certainly are no fool.



- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today

You are a jewel of happiness who sparkles with the wisdom of knowing that all will be well.




- from Copyright © 2006 Thought for Today