MARCH

Have fun with observation. Lighten up.

If every time you close your eyes, all you see is
blackness, play a game with it. See what it looks
like today. Observe what it does. Ask it if it is
always black, or can it change color? The process
of observing can be fun.

People complain, "I close my eyes and I want to see
God. I really want to, but He doesn't show up."
Come on! You can't even control your own mind.
Do you think you can control God? Do not waste
your time with such thoughts.

Observe. Watch. See what happens.

- John-Roger
(From: Spiritual Warrior, The Art of Spiritual Living)

HAPPINESS

Most people would rather be certain they're
miserable, than risk being happy.

Robert Anthony




DESIRE

Plant the seed of desire in your mind
and it forms a nucleus with power to
attract to itself everything needed
for its fulfillment.

Robert Collier

CONTENTMENT

The fountain of content must spring up in
the mind; and he who has so little knowledge
of human nature as to seek happiness by
changing anything but his own disposition,
will waste his life in fruitless efforts,
and multiply the griefs which he proposes
to remove.

Samuel Johnson

Another Set of the
TEN COMMANDMENTS

1. Thou shall not worry,
for worry is the most unproductive
of all human activities.

2. Thou shall not be fearful,
for most of the things we fear
never come to pass.

3. Thou shall not cross bridges
before you come to them,
for no one yet has succeeded
in accomplishing this.

4. Thou shall face each
problem as it comes.
You can only handle
one at a time anyway.

5. Thou shall not take
problems to bed with you,
for they make very
poor bedfellows.

6. Thou shall not borrow
other people's problems.
They can better care for
them than you can.

7. Thou shall not try to relive
yesterday for good or ill,
it is forever gone.
Concentrate on what is happening
in your life and be happy now!

8. Thou shall be a good listener,
for only when you listen do you
hear different ideas from your own.
It is hard to learn something
new when you are talking,
and some people do know
more than you do.

9. Thou shall not become
"bogged down" by frustration,
for 90% of it is rooted in self-pity
and will only interfere with
positive action.

10. Thou shall count thy blessings,
never overlooking the small ones,
for a lot of small blessings
add up to a big one

UNDERSTANDING

Yearn to understand first and to be understood second.

Beca Lewis Allen




EXCELLENCE

If you want to achieve excellence, you can
get there today. As of this second, quit
doing less-than-excellent work.

Thomas Watson

LIMITATIONS

Almost everybody walks around with a vast burden of
imaginary limitations inside his head. While the burden
remains, personal success is as difficult to achieve as
the conquest of Everest with a sack of rocks tied to
your back.

J. H. Brennan

DREAMS

Dreams come true; without that possibility,
nature would not incite us to have them.

John Updike




ACTION

It is good to dream, but it is better to dream
and work. Faith is mighty, but action with faith
is mightier. Desiring is helpful, but work and
desire are invincible.

Thomas Robert Gaines

DOWN DAY

Here's my down-day
I knew it would come
It came today

I sink into the no-place
In neutral, coasting the plane
Letting what comes
Pass by, pass away;
calm embracing of slow time

It's a day off from busy doing
Of finding the right space to be
I'm already there

I hold on:
Spring will come soon

Copyright©2000 Stella Savoie

Never give up!
~ 23 publishers rejected Dr. Seuss's first book.
~ Michael Jordan's high school basketball team cut him.
~ 21 publishers rejected M*A*S*H
~ Henry Ford went broke five times before succeeding.


SELF DISCOVERY
You will recognize your own path when you come
upon it, because you will suddenly have all the
energy and imagination you will ever need.
-Jerry Gillies

"Your future depends on many things, but mostly on you."
- Frank Tyger


"A break in the established order is never the work of chance.
It is the outcome of a man's resolve to turn life to account."
- Andre Malraux

ABUNDANCE

Everything you need you already have. You are
complete right now, you are a whole, total person,
not an apprentice person on the way to some place
else. Your completeness must be understood by you
and experienced in your thoughts as your own
personal reality.
-Wayne Dyer

One becomes acquainted with the Self through the
process of spiritual exercises.

Many of us have been asleep to ourselves for eons
of time. When you take the time each day to sit
down and do your spiritual exercises, you allow
time to become awakened to yourself again. No
one else can really tell you who you are.

- John-Roger

Life's Important Things

LOVE
The Special Feeling That Makes You Feel
All Warm And Wonderful.

RESPECT
Treating Others As Well
As You Would Like To Be Treated.

APPRECIATION
To Be Grateful For All The Good Things
Life Has To Offer.

HAPPINESS
The Full Enjoyment Of Each Moment.
A Smiling Face.

FORGIVENESS
The Ability To Let Things Be Without Anger.

SHARING
The Joy Of Giving Without Thought Of Receiving.

HONESTY
The Quality Of Always Telling The Truth.

INTEGRITY
The Purity Of Doing What's Right,
No Matter What.

COMPASSION
The Essence Of Feeling Another's Pain,
While Easing Their Hurt.

PEACE
The Reward For Living
The 10 Most Important Things.

~Author Unknown~

ACTION

The smallest deed is better than the grandest intention.

Larry Eisenberg




DREAMS

Nothing is as real as a dream. The world can
change around you, but your dream will not.
Responsibilities need not erase it. Duties
need not obscure it. Because the dream is
within you, no one can take it away.

Tom Clancy

WHY ASK WHY?

A question that naturally comes to mind when something goes wrong is "Why?" But it's a question fraught with danger. Research has repeatedly shown that the human brain is designed to answer a question with whatever knowledge it has (no matter how little) and come up with a plausible answer (however wrong). Self-blame or victimhood is a frequent side effect.

For example, you can ask why you're overweight and, without any problem at all, your mind will come up with answers. But all it can give you are theories. What's the "real" answer? Is it because you weren't loved as a child? Is it a genetic weakness in your family? Is it an evolutionary holdover precaution against famine? Is your mouth simply bored?

The problem with a why question is that you get too many answers you can do nothing about. You can't change your childhood or a genetic weakness.

There is only one good thing about asking why: It can be entertaining. It's intriguing. It's like a mystery and mysteries capture our attention like nothing else. But if what you want is to handle the situation well or solve the problem and get on with the business of living, ask how, not why. It's more efficient.

Since your mind will try to answer any question you put to it, the kind of question you ask makes a big difference. So ask what you really want to know: "How could I get slimmer?" Or
"How can I avoid this problem in the future?" Or "How can I solve this problem now?" Or "How can I make things a little better?" Let your mind go wild on one of those questions. The answers will be more productive.

With how, you go straight for a useful answer. You avoid getting sidetracked into what can become an endless search for "understanding." With how your answers lead to actions.
And it is actions that solve problems and produce real change.

Adam Khan

THINGS TO SAY FIRST THING IN THE MORNING

I have the strength to fight for everything I believe in.

I have the will to make every dream come true.

I have the faith to love all that surrounds me.

And I have the courage to just be myself.

Monica Sawdaye

Beauty

Adorn yourself first with inner beauty so the outer
beauty may benefit from your best intentions.

- John Morton
(From: The Blessings Already Are)



In the End, Only kindness matters....
Kellie Jo Conn

ABILITY

It is one's duty to make the most of the
best that is in him.

Duncan Stuart




FORGIVENESS

Forgiveness is the economy of the heart...
Forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the
cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.

Hannah More

YOU ARE A BEAUTIFUL PERSON

You are modest, selfless and kind,
too gentle in ego to see
how divine and gorgeous a person you are.
When I tell you... you disagree.

So I hold before you a mirror,
its reflection strong and true.
Take a look at the wondrous vision there,
the fabulous, marvelous you.

Do you see the person I see?
Do you see a phenomenal sight?
Do you see an honest and tender soul
whose spirit is high in flight?

The person you see in the mirror
lights a path for those who aspire
to be more than their daily circumstance,
a person I respect and admire.

© 1999 Terri McPherson

CIRCUMSTANCES

People are always blaming their circumstances
for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances.
The people who get on in this world are they who
get up and look for the circumstances they want,
and, if they can't find them, make them.

George Bernard Shaw

Unconditionally

Children are truly God's loving creations. When
they are born, they come onto this planet with a
mission of learning how to give and receive love
unconditionally.

- John-Roger
(From: Relationships, The Art of Making Life Work)

FEELINGS

You are more likely to act yourself into feelings,
than feel yourself into action.

Dr. Jerome Brunner




TIME ALONE

The person who has not learned to be happy and
content while completely alone for an hour, a
day, or a week has missed life's greatest serenity.

H. Clay Tate

Growth
The only way to grow is to grow. It's easier on you
if you choose to grow willingly, knowingly, with
acceptance, enthusiasm, understanding, and
cooperation.

- John-Roger





BE YOURSELF

Read, every day, something no one else is reading.
Think, every day, something no one else is thinking.
Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do.
It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.

Christopher Morley

DO YOUR BEST

I have simply tried to do what seemed
best each day, as each day came.

Abraham Lincoln




GRATITUDE

Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up
having more. If you concentrate on what you
don't have, you will never, ever have enough.

Oprah Winfrey

THE FIRST STEP

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to
see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Threads

For is it not true that human
progress is but a mighty
growing pattern woven together
by the tenuous single
threads united in a
common effort?
--Soong Mei-ling
(Madame Chiang Kai-shek)


We each are spinning our
individual threads, lending
texture, color, pattern, to the
"big design" that is serving us
all. Person by person our actions,
our thoughts, our values
complement those of our
sisters, those of the entire human
race. We are heading toward
the same destination, all of
us, and our paths run parallel
on occasion, intersect
periodically, and veer off in
singleness of purpose when
inspiration calls us.

It's comforting to be reminded
that our lives are purposeful.
What we are doing presently,
our interactions with other
people, our goals, have an
impact that is felt by many
others. We are interdependent.
Our behavior is triggering
important thoughts and
responses in someone else,
consistently and methodically.
No one of us is without a
contribution to make. Each
one of us is giving what we are
called upon to give.

Karen Casey

OURSELVES

We are not in a position in which we
have nothing to work with. We already
have capacities, talents, direction,
missions, callings.

Abraham Maslow

HONESTY

It is discouraging how many people are shocked
by honesty and how few by deceit.

Noel Coward

Bliss

Think of bliss this way. You are on your way to
visit your lover and there's a rock in your shoe.
You know it's there, but that rock does not bother
you because you are focused on getting to the one
you love. You completely transcend the pain. That
night when you get back home and you take the
shoe off, there is the bruise on your foot. You say,
"I wonder how I got that." But then you start
dreaming about your lover, you forget about the
pain again and you fall back into the bliss of your
beingness.

- John-Roger
(From: Spiritual Warrior, The Art of Spiritual Living)

INSPIRED AFFIRMATION

All I have is today, this moment, now.
I can spend this moment making it the best moment yet with fearlessness, trust, courage, confidence, faith and love
or I can waste it with doubt, anxiety, worry, regret, anger, fear, distress and hurt.
Knowing that whichever way I choose determines the experiences I will have, I choose to use the opportunity of each moment to live my life to the fullest, always choosing love.

11 THINGS IN LIFE

1. It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return, But what is more painful is to love someone and never find the courage to let that person know how you feel.

2. A sad thing in life is when you meet someone who means a lot to you, only to find out in the end that it was never meant to be and you just have to let go.

3. The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

4. It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.

5. It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.

6. Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.

7. Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.

8. Always put yourself in the other's shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the person too.

9. A careless word may kindle strife; a cruel word may wreck a life; a timely word may level stress; a loving word may heal and bless.

10. The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

11. Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, ends with a tear. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one smiling and everyone around you is crying.