Be a voice of peace in the world. Buy this book!

Nonviolent Communication: Create Your Life, Your Relationships, and Your World in Harmony with Your Values
By Marshall Rosenberg



This book was recommended to me by an excellent psychotherapist a few years ago. I had asked for help in learning how to communicate, especially when I was upset. This book has absolutely changed my life for the better. Although I'm still learning how to communicate when I am upset, at least I know I can ultimately own my feelings, be responsible for my behavior, heal myself, make amends where possible, and help others heal themselves.

I have specifically linked the top image of the book to the Audio CD set read by the author. If you'd rather read the book, please click on the link below:

For more information about Marshall Rosenberg and his teachings, please visit The Center for Nonviolent Communication.

Beautiful Clothes for Big Girls: Kiyonna

I am proud to spread the word about KIYONNA. They make beautiful, stylish clothes for women who wear sizes 0x to 5x. Please check them out!

This is me in one of their dresses, 2 years ago, very similar to the one in the ad above: 3/4 Sleeve Scalloped boudoir Lace Dress ($178)


I am happy to say I've lost almost 15 pounds since then! I later donated the dress to a local non-profit called The Enchanted Closet, whose mission is to physically, mentally, and emotionally outfit Metro Atlanta high school girls from low-income families through programs that prepare them for social and professional milestones. Please click the image below for more information about this great organization.

My Top Movies of All Time (in alphabetical order)

1. American History X (1998)
2. Batman Begins (2005)
3. Black Widow (1987)
4. Blacula (1972)
5. Chicago (2002)
6. Clash of the Titans (1981)
7. Cleopatra Jones (1973)
8. The Color Purple (1985)
9. Contact (1997)
10. Creepshow (1982)
11. The Dead Zone (1983)
12. The Dirty Dozen (1967)
13. Dracula (1978)
14. Dragonslayer (1981)
15. Dreamgirls (2007)
16. Drumline (2002)
17. The Exorcist (1973)
18. The Firm (1993)
19. Gladiator (2000)
20. The Godfather (1972)
21. The Godfather Part II (1974)
22. G.I. Jane (1997)
23. Hannibal (2001)
24. Hannibal Rising (2007)
25. Happy Accidents (2000)
26. Hellraiser (1987)
27. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
28. Jane Eyre (BBC 1983)
29. King Kong (1976)
30. Leon The Professional (1994)
31. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Animated, Bill Melendez, 1979)
32. The Little Mermaid (1989)
33. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
34. Malcolm X (1992)
35. Manhunter (1986)
36. The Matrix (1999)
37. Me, Myself & Irene (2000)
38. Midnight Run (1988)
39. Miller's Crossing (1990)
40. MST3K: Teenagers from Outer Space (1992 - not available for sale)
41. Near Dark (1987)
42. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
43. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
44. Pride & Prejudice (A&E 1996)
45. Pumpkinhead (1988)
46. Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982)
47. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
48. Sam Kinison: Why Did We Laugh? (1997)
49. Se7en (1995)
50. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
51. The Shining (1980)
52. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
53. Single White Female (1992)
54. Sleeping Beauty (Disney, 1959)
55. A Soldier's Story (1984)
56. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
57. Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
58. Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
59. Stir of Echoes (1999)
60. Superman (1978)
61. Superman II (1981)
62. That Thing You Do! (1996)
63. The Thing (1982)
64. Thelma & Louise (1991)
65. Trading Places (1983)
66. Twister (1996)
67. The Usual Suspects (1995)
68. The Vanishing (1988)
69. Vanity Fair (A&E 1998)
70. Wall Street (1987)
71. Whale Rider (2003)

BBC's Big Read Top 100 Books

In April 2003 the BBC's Big Read began the search for the UK's best-loved novel and asked people to nominate their favorite books. For some reason, I've seen different versions of this list. On this particular list, I've read 11 titles; on another, I had read 16. Either way, I shocked myself! Jane Eyre is my absolute favorite. I do plan to read Heart of Darkness, Count of Monte Cristo and The Kite Runner. Of course my other all-time favorites are not on this list: The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Sula and Song of Solomon.

Below are all the results:
* I've read it.
+ I've seen a movie version.

How many have YOU read or plan to read?

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien +
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen *+
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling +
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee +
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne +
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell +
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis * +
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë * +
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë +
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier * +
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens +
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott +
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell +
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling * +
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling +
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling +
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien * +
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck +
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl +
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert * +
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald * +
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas +
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens +
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck +
53. The Stand, Stephen King * +
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding +
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding +
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar +
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo * +
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho *
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot +
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

Just in case you didn't know, here are this year's Oscar winners (in bold) and nominees...

Visit the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Website

Performance by an actor in a leading role

* Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
* Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
* Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
* Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

* Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
* Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
* Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
* Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

Performance by an actress in a leading role

* Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
* Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

* Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
* Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

Best animated feature film of the year

* “Bolt” (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
* “Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton

Achievement in art direction

* “Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

Achievement in cinematography

* “Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

Achievement in costume design

* “Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky

Achievement in directing

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

Best documentary feature

* “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
* “Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
* “The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
* “Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall in association with Red Box Films Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
* “Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

Best documentary short subject

* “The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
* “The Final Inch” Vermilion Films in association with Google.org, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
* “Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
* “The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

Achievement in film editing

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens

Best foreign language film of the year

* “The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany
* “The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
* “Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
* “Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
* “Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel

Achievement in makeup

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
* “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Alexandre Desplat
* “Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

* “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
* “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
* “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

Best motion picture of the year

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
* “Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti and Redmond Morris, Producers
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production, Christian Colson, Producer

Best animated short film

* “La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
* “Lavatory - Lovestory” A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit
* “Oktapodi” (Talantis Films), A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
* “Presto” (Walt Disney), A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
* “This Way Up” A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

Best live action short film

* “Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
* “Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
* “New Boy” (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
* “The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
* “Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank

Achievement in sound editing

* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King
* “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Glenn Freemantle and Tom Sayers
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
* “Wanted” (Universal), Wylie Stateman

Achievement in sound mixing

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
* “Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

Achievement in visual effects

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
* “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

Adapted screenplay

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
* “Doubt” (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Original screenplay

* “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
* “Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
* “In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

Excellent Books to Empower Yourself about Money

80% of achieving or not achieving something is psychology. These books have helped me tremendously to break through my scarcity mentality and become responsible and powerful with the energy of money.
__________________________________________________

Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
by Vicki Robin, Joe Dominguez, and Monique Tilford




The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life
by Lynne Twist




Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not!
by Robert T. Kiyosaki




Secrets of Six-Figure Women: Surprising Strategies to Up Your Earnings and Change Your Life
by Barbara Stanny




Overcoming Underearning: Overcome Your Money Fears and Earn What You Deserve
by Barbara Stanny




The Seven Stages of Money Maturity: Understanding the Spirit and Value of Money in Your Life
by George Kinder




Think and Grow Rich: 70th Anniversary Edition
by Napoleon Hill

Original Painting: "Squigglies"

Acrylic on Canvas. 30" x 30"

$200

(Plus $50 for shipping & handling outside of GA)

Please contact me if you're interested in purchasing.
770 896 7497
melissa [at] artoceanspirit.com

Original Painting: "Sunburst"

Acrylic on Canvas. 20" circle.

$200

(Plus $25 for shipping & handling outside of GA)

I have sold this original painting, but I am glad to make a custom order, featuring any base color.

Please contact me if you're interested in purchasing.
770 896 7497
melissa [at] artoceanspirit.com

Original Painting: "Purple Solar"

Acrylic on Canvas Panel. 24" x 24"

$200

(Plus $25 for shipping and handling outside of GA)

Please contact me if you're interested in purchasing.
770 896 7497
melissa [at] artoceanspirit.com

Original Painting: "Paintable Quotes"

Acrylic on Canvas. 30" X 30"

$225

(Plus $50 for shipping and handling outside of GA)

I can create a custom painting for you, using any text that inspires you. It can be a quote like the one above, passage from a book, music lyrics, etc.

Price is based on size of canvas and the number of characters in the text ($2 per character).


Please contact me if you're interested in purchasing.
770 896 7497
melissa [at] artoceanspirit.com

Original Painting: "Law of Attraction"

Acrylic on canvas. 16" x 20" Oval.

$125

(Plus $25 for shipping & handling outside of GA)

* Also available in smaller sizes: 6 x 8" for $35 and 8 x 10" for $50 *

Let my art inspire you to attract your heart’s desire and add beauty to your home or office.

The purple background symbolizes spirituality and a high level of consciousness.

The figure represents a person meditating, maybe doing yoga, but basically being still and focusing on what they want. It also represents prayer and eternity.

The lines around the figure represent energy flowing to, from and through the person.


Please contact me if you have any questions or if you're interested in purchasing:
770 896 7497
melissa [at] artoceanspirit.com

Sweet Spot

This beautiful residence is the summer home of Ray Lane, one of the founding partners of Oracle. It's right on the boardwalk at Manhattan Beach, CA. Stopped me in my tracks.

A Course In Miracles Lesson 37 :: My Holiness Blesses The World

Click Here to listen to today's lesson, courtesy of notabody.com

My Holiness Blesses The World

This idea contains the first glimmerings of your true function in the world, or why you are here Your purpose is to see the world through your own holiness. Thus are you and the world blessed together. No one loses; nothing is taken away from anyone; everyone gains through your holy vision. It signifies the end of sacrifice because it offers everyone his full due. And he is entitled to everything because it is his birthright as a Son of God.

There is no other way in which the idea of sacrifice can be removed from the world's thinking Any other way of seeing will inevitably demand payment of someone or something. As a result, the perceiver will lose. Nor will he have any idea why he is losing. Yet is his wholeness restored to his awareness through your vision. Your holiness blesses him by asking nothing of him. Those who see themselves as whole make no demands.

Your holiness is the salvation of the world It lets you teach the world that it is one with you, not by preaching to it, not by telling it anything, but merely by your quiet recognition that in your holiness are all things blessed along with you.

Today's four longer exercise periods, each to involve three to five minutes of practice, begin with the repetition of the idea for today, followed by a minute or so of looking about you as you apply the idea to whatever you see:

My holiness blesses this chair
My holiness blesses that window
My holiness blesses this body

Then close your eyes and apply the idea to any person who occurs to you, using his name and saying:
My holiness blesses you, [name]

You may continue the practice period with your eyes closed; you may open your eyes again and apply the idea for today to your outer world if you so desire; you may alternate between applying the idea to what you see around you and to those who are in your thoughts; or you may use any combination of these two phases of application that you prefer The practice period should conclude with a repetition of the idea with your eyes closed, and another, following immediately, with your eyes open.

The shorter exercises consist of repeating the idea as often as you can It is particularly helpful to apply it silently to anyone you meet, using his name as you do so. It is essential to use the idea if anyone seems to cause an adverse reaction in you. Offer him the blessing of your holiness immediately, that you may learn to keep it in your own awareness.

Gandhi: An Example of Simplicity

Bottom photo: Gandhi's possessions at the time of his death

Click Here to visit the complete site on Mahatma Gandhi.

Anonymous Good Deeds Make the World Go Round

Do some good deeds without the recipient knowing anything about you. Here are some ideas. Write in and let us know how it went. If you have any ideas of your own, please leave them in the comment box.

* While in a restaurant, pay for the meals or even just dessert at another table. Instruct the waitress to give you that table’s check, quietly without notice. Pay, then leave the restaurant.
* Cut some one’s grass.
* Wash some one’s car.
* Plant flowers in some one’s garden.
* Pay for the food order for the car behind you in the drive-through, fast-food restaurant.
* Pay for the toll of the car behind you on a toll road or toll bridge.
* Pay for the movie of the third person behind you in line at the theater. It needs to be the third person so you can get away in time.
* Make arrangements to pay some one’s gas, water, telephone, or electric bill. Call the utility company and offer this for a total stranger.
* Go to the dry cleaners. Pay for some one’s dry cleaning, someone you don’t know.
* Give another driver the parking space you were waiting for.
* Return a grocery cart to the store.
* Leave the last piece of cake for someone else.
* Put coins in parking meters that are expired and there's a car parked in the spot.
* Bury nickels in the sand of public sandboxes and under slides and swing sets so that children may find them.
* Put flowers under the windshield wipers of a stranger's car.
* Leave your change in a vending machine.
* Leave some of your cash withdrawal at the ATM.
* Send someone a thank you card just because.
* Hail a cab for someone.
* Hold doors open for everyone walking behind you.

How to Discover Your Life Purpose in About 20 Minutes by Steve Pavlina

How do you discover your real purpose in life? I’m not talking about your job, your daily responsibilities, or even your long-term goals. I mean the real reason why you’re here at all — the very reason you exist.

Perhaps you’re a rather nihilistic person who doesn’t believe you have a purpose and that life has no meaning. Doesn’t matter. Not believing that you have a purpose won’t prevent you from discovering it, just as a lack of belief in gravity won’t prevent you from tripping. All that a lack of belief will do is make it take longer, so if you’re one of those people, just change the number 20 in the title of this blog entry to 40 (or 60 if you’re really stubborn). Most likely though if you don’t believe you have a purpose, then you probably won’t believe what I’m saying anyway, but even so, what’s the risk of investing an hour just in case?

Here’s a story about Bruce Lee which sets the stage for this little exercise. A master martial artist asked Bruce to teach him everything Bruce knew about martial arts. Bruce held up two cups, both filled with liquid. “The first cup,” said Bruce, “represents all of your knowledge about martial arts. The second cup represents all of my knowledge about martial arts. If you want to fill your cup with my knowledge, you must first empty your cup of your knowledge.”

If you want to discover your true purpose in life, you must first empty your mind of all the false purposes you’ve been taught (including the idea that you may have no purpose at all).

So how to discover your purpose in life? While there are many ways to do this, some of them fairly involved, here is one of the simplest that anyone can do. The more open you are to this process, and the more you expect it to work, the faster it will work for you. But not being open to it or having doubts about it or thinking it’s an entirely idiotic and meaningless waste of time won’t prevent it from working as long as you stick with it — again, it will just take longer to converge.

Here’s what to do:

1. Take out a blank sheet of paper or open up a word processor where you can type (I prefer the latter because it’s faster).
2. Write at the top, “What is my true purpose in life?”
3. Write an answer (any answer) that pops into your head. It doesn’t have to be a complete sentence. A short phrase is fine.
4. Repeat step 3 until you write the answer that makes you cry. This is your purpose.

That’s it. It doesn’t matter if you’re a counselor or an engineer or a bodybuilder. To some people this exercise will make perfect sense. To others it will seem utterly stupid. Usually it takes 15-20 minutes to clear your head of all the clutter and the social conditioning about what you think your purpose in life is. The false answers will come from your mind and your memories. But when the true answer finally arrives, it will feel like it’s coming to you from a different source entirely.

For those who are very entrenched in low-awareness living, it will take a lot longer to get all the false answers out, possibly more than an hour. But if you persist, after 100 or 200 or maybe even 500 answers, you’ll be struck by the answer that causes you to surge with emotion, the answer that breaks you. If you’ve never done this, it may very well sound silly to you. So let it seem silly, and do it anyway.

As you go through this process, some of your answers will be very similar. You may even re-list previous answers. Then you might head off on a new tangent and generate 10-20 more answers along some other theme. And that’s fine. You can list whatever answer pops into your head as long as you just keep writing.

At some point during the process (typically after about 50-100 answers), you may want to quit and just can’t see it converging. You may feel the urge to get up and make an excuse to do something else. That’s normal. Push past this resistance, and just keep writing. The feeling of resistance will eventually pass.

You may also discover a few answers that seem to give you a mini-surge of emotion, but they don’t quite make you cry — they’re just a bit off. Highlight those answers as you go along, so you can come back to them to generate new permutations. Each reflects a piece of your purpose, but individually they aren’t complete. When you start getting these kinds of answers, it just means you’re getting warm. Keep going.

It’s important to do this alone and with no interruptions. If you’re a nihilist, then feel free to start with the answer, “I don’t have a purpose,” or “Life is meaningless,” and take it from there. If you keep at it, you’ll still eventually converge.

When I did this exercise, it took me about 25 minutes, and I reached my final answer at step 106. Partial pieces of the answer (mini-surges) appeared at steps 17, 39, and 53, and then the bulk of it fell into place and was refined through steps 100-106. I felt the feeling of resistance (wanting to get up and do something else, expecting the process to fail, feeling very impatient and even irritated) around steps 55-60. At step 80 I took a 2-minute break to close my eyes, relax, clear my mind, and to focus on the intention for the answer to come to me — this was helpful as the answers I received after this break began to have greater clarity.

Here was my final answer: to live consciously and courageously, to resonate with love and compassion, to awaken the great spirits within others, and to leave this world in peace.

When you find your own unique answer to the question of why you’re here, you will feel it resonate with you deeply. The words will seem to have a special energy to you, and you will feel that energy whenever you read them.

Discovering your purpose is the easy part. The hard part is keeping it with you on a daily basis and working on yourself to the point where you become that purpose.

If you’re inclined to ask why this little process works, just put that question aside until after you’ve successfully completed it. Once you’ve done that, you’ll probably have your own answer to why it works. Most likely if you ask 10 different people why this works (people who’ve successfully completed it), you’ll get 10 different answers, all filtered through their individual belief systems, and each will contain its own reflection of truth.

Obviously, this process won’t work if you quit before convergence. I’d guesstimate that 80-90% of people should achieve convergence in less than an hour. If you’re really entrenched in your beliefs and resistant to the process, maybe it will take you 5 sessions and 3 hours, but I suspect that such people will simply quit early (like within the first 15 minutes) or won’t even attempt it at all. But if you’re drawn to read this blog (and haven’t been inclined to ban it from your life yet), then it’s doubtful you fall into this group.

Give it a shot! At the very least, you’ll learn one of two things: your true purpose in life -or- that you should unsubscribe from this blog. ;)

January 16th, 2005

View the original article:
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/01/how-to-discover-your-life-purpose-in-about-20-minutes/

Day One

Well, you might be asking yourself, "What's the Core?"

"The Core" is my own personal philosophy about human nature and how we become conscious of the world and our part in it.

Imagine the earth as a series of concentric circles.

At the outer circles, people are only aware of their own kind.

At the next inner circle, people are aware of "others" but regard them with fear and do not interact with them at all.

At the next level, it's very tribal. People are aware of "others", are fearful and have an attack mentality -- us versus them, warring nations, gangs, etc. It's a deeply fear-based energy.

At the next level, it's somewhat tribal and there's some fear, but there is at least tolerance. No one attacks anyone else but interaction is limited and based solely on necessity.

At the next level, it's less tribal and tolerance has become acceptance. Interaction is becoming more about curiosity as well as necessity. At this point there are key people from different groups serving as ambassadors.

At the next level, necessity has become welcomed interdependence with each group striving to benefit the other but still maintaining their own identities. Ambassadors are now creating partnerships.

At the next level, there are fewer ambassadors as more members of each group lessens their identities and starts to see themselves in the other groups.

At the next level, group identities start to disappear, even down to physical distinctions.

Finally, we're at the core, where we have returned to formless energy.

I say that people like Jesus, Ghandi, Mother Theresa, Buddha were "core" people. They were about consciousness and loving the human spirit.

I aspire to be like them and have created this blog as a place were anyone can post messages of positivity and love, messages at the highest energy frequencies. (and make a little extra cash, too!)

Welcome to the Core...