Mastering Reality

In this Issue

• Coexist
• A Thought for Your Practice
• Mastery through Judgment, sort of…
• Quotations
• Calendar & Announcements

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Coexist

Here in Los Angeles, I have begun to see more and more of the “Coexist” bumper stickers. If you have not seen them, they spell it out in the symbols of major religions. I do not know who originally thought of it, but bravo!

The other day I was on Facebook surfing through one of their applications called Flair. “Flair” are electronic buttons and I have been collecting buttons for a while, electronic and otherwise actually. I came across this one to the right.

It really saddened me at first since it really displays the hard-core divisions that have become so prevalent in this day and age. We have become a world of “you're either with us, or against us” with no grey areas in between and little to no interest in cooperation or negotiation, no wonder change has become so slow.

The part of this that I find so ironic is that most of the people who believe that this is a valid excuse to kill or destroy others tend to be the same ones that wave their flags or books of worship, Bible, Koran, etc, and in this country claim to be defending “American ideals” and values while throwing the Constitution and Bill of Rights out the window (I hear similar statements from other nations and cultures).

If we judge others as being beyond hope or help, why should we be surprised if they feel the same way toward us? It is not about changing people, but in changing how we relate and think about them. Look for the best and if you cannot find it, project something good and uplifting onto them. Patanjali, in his “Yoga Sutras,” addresses this so directly in one line.

By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy and joyful, compassion for the unhappy and sorrowful, gladness for the virtuous and non-judgmentalism towards the wicked, the mind acquires and maintains its undisturbed calmness.

Yoga Sutras 1:33

If you have content you would like to pass along or to submit your own content, a question or comment on this newsletter, please send it to: editorial@spiritgeek.com or go to the online version of the Zeitgeist Newsletter.

A Thought for Your Practice

As humans we have a natural tendency to judge everything around us. In my experience, it is not really the others we are judging, but ourselves. We judge ourselves VERY harshly and project it out into and onto the world.

So here is a quick exercise:

When caught pointing at someone, I had a schoolteacher that would say: “Remember, you have three fingers pointing back at you.” Judgment works in the same way, you think you are projecting out “there,” but you are actually looking within and apparently not real happy with what you see.

In L. Ron Hubbard’s “Church of Scientology,” they use a technique called “clearing” in an attempt to get at the base causes of their reactions to what happens around them. The basic idea is that by knowing the initial cause of a reaction, you cease being at its mercy and begin to be able to choose how you will respond. That is the big difference, responding to what happens rather than reacting blindly.

When you find yourself having reacted to some happening and wishing you had done it differently, look into yourself and see where that reaction came from. Look into it all, the emotions that came up, the history that it relates to, the “story” that you have told yourself.

Very often we will find that we have blind spots in these areas and surprisingly often we will find that we placed those blind spots ourselves to avoid something or justify what we thought or did.

As Gandhi said: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Part of becoming that change is to see yourself for what you are as well. Watch and learn about yourself.

Try it…

Mastery through Judgment, sort of…

Have you ever actually sat down and looked at what ideas and thoughts are programmed into your head, often to the point that they seem as if they are natural responses? Fears are an excellent example of how this works.

Psychologists say that at birth, a baby has only two fears, falling and loud noises; all other fears are learned along the way. Now if you suffer from another fear, you are likely to believe that it is not only natural, but also that you came into the world this way. If that truly is the case, are you willing to address it? If it is not the case and you learned it in the process of your life, do you want to remove it?

Every month there is one aspect of this newsletter that never changes, the necessity to look at yourself and to become intimately aware of whom and what you are and how you function. It is through this self-familiarity that you truly find what your issues are and what areas are in need of being addressed.

Looking at others can be of help also, but most tend to use their assessments of others as validations for their judgments and to increase their egos. If you want to incorporate the outside world into your self-analysis, remember that what you harshly judge “them” to be is actually where you are lacking in yourself and that you are projecting that lack onto them.

The more you can learn about yourself and how you relate to the world around you, the more you see your reality for what it truly is, making you its master! Mastering your reality then allows you to change it into what you wish. You will find that a surprising amount of that reality has merely been a projection of your own self-image and your judgment of your own perceived lacking. Now you have the basic tools to change it at will!

Enjoy!

Quotations

We either create our own reality or allow someone else to do it for us.

JJ Dewey

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

Carl Jung

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

Mother Teresa

I regard Christian and Jewish fundamentalism, and all other forms of fundamentalism, as the enemies of God - and I hope you'll quote me on that.

Arthur Hertzberg

Want to know an excellent gauge of coming change? Watch the “conservatives” fight to keep it the same, the harder the fight, the closer the change.

Robert Burgener/Spiritgeek

Calendar & Announcements

New Spiritgeek.com Website	Now Online!
The new and improved Spiritgeek.com is up and running for your convenience. A better layout with visual cues as to what the content is to make it easier to find what you are looking for. Additionally, Google™ Custom Search which has been added to the site and has been setup to search all our sites, including the blog, newsletter and the video transcripts from one single location.
Congratulations Kris Searle and Inspire U Records
Kris Searle of Inspire U Records have not only been nominated for their fourth award in three years for “Warning Signs” in the “Electronica/Dance” category at the 2010 Los Angeles Music Awards, but they won again this year! A special mention is due since I believe Kris Searle and Inspire U Records have won each their awards in four different categories, that is definitely worth a special mention!
“10 Secrets to the Secret”™ Book Release	Coming Soon
“10 Secrets to the Secret”™ is a guidebook for the practitioner to help them make the strides in their life they could only dream of before. After nearly 30 years of personal practice and teaching others how to make the Law of Attraction (The Secret™) work in their lives, I have realized that there are several places that seem to be the largest stumbling blocks in manifesting the life of their dreams.

Not this, not that

In this Issue

• "...it's all small stuff"
• A Thought for Your Practice
• Neti-Neti
• Quotations
• Calendar & Announcements

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"...it's all small stuff"

I find writing my blog entries, of which there have been few as of late, and these newsletters that I have to keep an eye on my tone. It is easy to talk about some problem or issue and get lost there instead of finding a way out.

Life can often be like that, we allow some issue to build and without realizing it we have become lost there and often find it difficult to work our way out. The funny part of it is that the problem is not actually that large, it is our proximity that makes it seem so massive.

If I take a microscope and focus in on a microbe, I can give it the illusion of being larger than a house and if I allow myself to get lost in that idea, I may actually begin to believe, or live within, the delusion. The same thing has happened to all of us in our forgetting our true natures as eternal Spiritual entities and becoming lost within the illusion that this virtual reality simulator is our true nature.

Be it the day-to-day issues and events in our lives or the study of our actual nature outside the illusion of this creation, getting lost is all fun and games if you will let it. Someone once wrote, "Don't sweat the small stuff... and it's all small stuff," how inspired is that?

If you have content you would like to pass along or to submit your own content, a question or comment on this newsletter, please send it to: editorial@spiritgeek.com or go to the online version of the Zeitgeist Newsletter.

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A Thought for Your Practice

Life is so often directly affected by perspective and perception and when we become aware of it and start to see it for what it actually is, we will find life becoming more and more of an entertainment.

So here is a little homework assignment:

When you find the "reality" of your life becoming overwhelming it is helpful to remember the following:

1. It is nothing more than an experience in a film I call Life.
   
   
2. I and only I have invested the energy into this so that it may affect me this way.
   
   
3. I can rearrange my perspective to some other emotion/perception if I wish.

People often use this in times of pain, hurt or anger to lessen their sensation that they are feeling in the moment, but I also use it with the more positive experiences in my life. We often cause ourselves pain by being attached to the "good" experiences that, short of chemical manipulation, cannot last forever.

As much as we want to see the less pleasant experiences as powerless, we must also begin to realize that the enjoyable experiences are even more addictive if we do not watch out for them. An addict is running from something unpleasant in the search for a more pleasurable experience.

Try it...

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Neti-Neti

There is a practice in one schools of yoga, Jnana (knowledge), called "Neti-Neti" in which the idea is to strip away the illusions around one until you are left with what actually is real. Neti actually means "not this" and together the idea is "Not this, not that."

Often I have people think that this is robbing them of the joys in life by knowing them for the illusory nature that they actually are. Do you see the contradictions here? They are illusions so they are not actually as pleasurable as we believe them to be and once you get into seeing them for what they truly are you can start to experience the true joy that is your REAL nature.

It is like the heroin addict who quits taking the drug, at first they are insanely miserable as they go through the detox phase and once they have finished they start to experience a new existence. There may be things to be dealt with, but once they are handled they are free to enjoy.

Several years ago I realized that all the religions agreed on the idea that we are eternal entities that only inhabit bodies for a while. I began to wonder what it might be to live from that perspective of the Spirit, as I call it, and not from the perspective that is the norm. I can tell you that it changes the world around you and you start to be able to appreciate the joy in all experiences.

It takes persistence and practice to make it consistent, but in time it gets easier and easier and the joys of this state of existence is worth it. Without the addiction to the joys and happiness we think of as real and the avoidance of the rest we dislike we are free to be what we are at our core. That is not only freedom from addiction and a falling away of what you are not, but a discovery of "That thou art."

Enjoy!

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Quotations

What is reality anyway! It's nothing but a collective hunch.

Lily Tomlin as Jane Wagner
in "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe"

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.

Albert Einstein

Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead.

Sigmund Freud

Few people have the imagination for reality.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Man's greatest mistake is to think of himself as what a 'Star Trek' alien once called; 'an ugly bag of mostly water.' The body is only a temporary home. As a gift of God, it should be cared for but not made the center of the universe.

Spiritgeek

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Calendar & Announcements

Club Inspire U at Club Cobra	Sep 25, 2010
Spiritgeek.com has partnered with Inspire U Records in presenting Club Inspire U at Club Cobra in North Hollywood. From Kris Searle, the creator of Club Inspire U: I wanted to create a place where people feel like it's a 'home from home' where you refresh and vitalize and you leave inspired. A place you can come and not be judged. You are accepted for who you are and for what you do. They aren't enough places like this so this is going to be a place where ideas will thrive and natural talent rules. Whatever it is.
"10 Secrets to the Secret"™ Book Release	Summer 2010
After nearly 30 years of personal practice and teaching others how to make the Law of Attraction (The Secret™) work in their lives, I have realized that there are several places that seem to be the largest stumbling blocks in manifesting the life of their dreams. "10 Secrets to the Secret"™ is a guidebook for the practitioner to help them make the strides in their life they could only dream of before. While finishing "10 Secrets to the Secret"™ is set for later this summer, if we can get the publishing taken care of early enough, we are hoping to release it at the Club Inspire U event on the 25th of September. In keeping with the Club Inspire U tradition, all copies sold at the event will donate 20% of the profits to the American Cancer Society.

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The Independence of Spirit

In this Issue

• A State of Independence
• A Thought for Your Practice
• ...and Facts are Facts
• Quotations
• Calendar & Announcements

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A State of Independence

Being July, in the United States, a very important holiday is coming up in the next few days. July 4^th, also known as Independence Day, is a remembrance of the day that the colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence.

This is the first of a collection of documents that contain ideas that if for no other reason should go down in history for the profound spiritual nature they enclose. In the Declaration of Independence the statement of, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Imagine the world that would be if we actually lived up to such high ideals!

If we will, we can live up to these ideas and prosper in the freedoms that they offer. As with all choices, they do not come without repercussions. There are costs with this choice as with all choices.

Are you willing to pay the price? Are you willing to give up the idea that you are better than another? Will you remove the idea that you and only you have the truth and that all others must abide by your truth and more importantly, are you wiling to live within your own truth? Can you accept that what brings you happiness may not bring it to another and their happiness may not be understood by you?

When you are truly willing to accept the responsibilities and consequences of the choice, then you can declare yourself as Independent and step into a life that you likely have not even dreamed of before.

If you have content you would like to pass along or to submit your own content, a question or comment on this newsletter, please send it to: editorial@spiritgeek.com or go to the online version of the Zeitgeist Newsletter.

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A Thought for Your Practice

To find a personal state of independence one must find where they have allowed themselves to become enslaved. In many places we are very aware of our enslavement, we have knowingly allowed ourselves to become or to continue since in one way or another there appears to be some benefit.

There are also places where we will not realize our slavery to ideas, methods or the norms of our lives. These can be a bit more difficult to access, but as with all things in your life, if you can question it, you can address it.

So here is a little homework assignment:

This simple exercise can be used initially to address the areas in our lives we are aware of and then later with the ones we become aware of when we start looking. It is quite simple and as with most of my exercises, it begins with looking at you.

Take a look at what appear to be hard, fast rules in your life. The more required the rule or way of doing things, the more likely there is a possible binding there.

Look at it very closely.

• What do you "have" to do with this?
• Why do you "have" to?
• Where did this rule or way of doing things come from?
• Is there possibly an alternate way of doing or being?

Often our rules come from our childhoods, we were told that this is the way things are and we believed it for any number of reasons.

Now do not get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with rules and ways of doing things, but if you are unable to question them, then you are likely a slave to them and that can become a hindrance in your growth. It boils down to becoming aware and then deciding if you want to change it.

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...and Facts are Facts

Why would we allow ourselves to become abjectly subservient to any idea, philosophy or fact? Oh yes, we are very often slaves to facts. Oh and how we fight sometimes to validate, justify and convince ourselves that being owned is not only right, but required.

Think about life and death for a moment. It is a fact that everyone dies, except for an exceedingly few listed in some of the world's scripture, it is not even a question, but an absolute given. OK, so if it is destined to happen, why do we spend so much time, energy and effort in attempting to avoid it?

Because we have become slaves to the idea that death must be bad, it is different and we have allowed ourselves to be owned by the fear of that difference. Someone told me recently that often fear is actually unrealized empowerment misunderstood by the mind and ego, what in interesting idea.

So we have a fact, apparently an uncomfortable one, so if we just accept that fact and live every moment to its utmost, squeezing every drop of life out of it, would that not make for a fantastic life unto itself? Add to that the freedom that comes with it to pursue the callings of your Heart and Spirit to unfold a life that could only have been designed by Heavenly Creature, you, and what would you have, absolute awesomeness!

There is an old joke that says something along the idea that most of us act as if our bodies are needed in pristine condition as if they were going to be used as a trade-in for a newer model. I want to turn the body in, used, dented a few times, worn, possibly falling apart and arrive saying "Wow, what a ride!" What about you?

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Quotations

The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage.

Thucydides

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.

Albert Camus

Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.

Benjamin Franklin

A life of reaction is a life of slavery, intellectually and spiritually. One must fight for a life of action, not reaction.

Rita Mae Brown

Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you're living?

Bob Marley

Slavery of the body is terrible and should never be allowed but slavery of the Mind and Spirit is purely diabolical.

Spiritgeek

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Calendar & Announcements

"10 Secrets to the Secret"™ Discussion Group	Every Monday†
† Every Monday except July 5th The ongoing series of discussions on Robert/Spiritgeek's upcoming book, "10 Secrets to the Secret"™ due out this summer. Learn the 10 insights that have made the Law of Attraction come alive for so many and helped many more discover where they were unintentionally sabotaging themselves. From 3:00PM till about 5:00 at The Spot, 4455 Overland Ave, Culver City, in the back room. Come enjoy good coffee, excellent food and be part of the completion of the book. The tenth and final session of the series will be July 26th.
Reputation Label's "NerveCast Friday"	Every Friday
Reputation Label's "NerveCast Friday" show with Johnny, Kris, the gang and Monkey on the internet live from 1:00PM-3:00PM PDT (4:00-6:00 EDT) from London. Music, conversation, some general mayhem and just a bit of Life Coaching from yours truly. From the Reputation Label site: We promote the great music through many media outlets and none better than Reverbnation.com. Come and join our site there if you are a band so that we can get you promoted and seen world wide..do it now !! Join us in the chat room during the show for another dimension of interactive radio.
Club Inspire U	Jul 24, 2010
Spiritgeek.com has partnered with Inspire U Records in presenting Club Inspire U at Club Cobra in North Hollywood. In addition to the always exceptional event of inspiring artists, there will be the addition of Inspire U Records founder Kris Searle's birthday and the release party for Kris' new single, "Warning Signs" featuring Darnell Swallow. There may be another release going on at the event, but that is not definite as of yet. From the Club Inspire U site: I wanted to create a place where people feel like it's a 'home from home' where you refresh and vitalize and you leave inspired. A place you can come and not be judged. You are accepted for who you are and for what you do. They aren't enough places like this so this is going to be a place where ideas will thrive and natural talent rules. Whatever it is.
Interview on Wake Up!
Ryan Ray and Fuz are the hosts of Wake Up! and recently invited me to do a segment on their weekly webcast. From the Wake Up! site: Wake UP! Explore your Passion is a TV talk show that changes the way people think about work. Through guest success stories and audience participation, host Ryan Ray inspires and motivates those who live only for the weekend to break the cycle and begin exploring their passion every day.
"10 Secrets to the Secret"™ Book Release	Summer 2010
While finishing "10 Secrets to the Secret"™ is set for later this summer, if we can get the publishing taken care of early enough, we are hoping to release it at the Club Inspire U event on the 24th of July. In keeping with the Club Inspire U tradition, all copies sold at the event will donate 20% of the profits to the American Cancer Society.

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Judgment is...

In this Issue

• Equality and Judgment
• A Thought for Your Practice
• Why Judgment Fails
• Quotations
• Calendar & Announcements

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Equality and Judgment

In June I tend to think about the upcoming festivities of Gay Pride in West Hollywood and the assorted issues that are inevitably going to be raised. Of course the obvious equality of citizens who have "made the choice," according to some, of loving those with the same 23^rd chromosome. There is now the issue of Equality in Marriage which I think should be such a no-brainer, civil-contract versus religious institution, but that is a discussion for a later time.

The thing that I try to keep reviewing in my mind is that famous line from the Gospels to "Judge not." It is with our judgments that one idea is "good" and the other is "bad" we create the source of the inequalities that people feel victimized by.

I have always told people who claim their religious writings justify or require such judgments that when humanity becomes the embodiment of Love completely, then and only then might God consider giving us the option to make such judgments.

I will make a deal with you, I will let you live your life the way you wish to with as expansive or restrictive view of the world around us as you wish. However, you must do the same for me, no matter how much you disagree with my perspective. This is the first step in loving your fellow man (I just could not pass up that double entendre).

If you have content you would like to pass along or to submit your own content, a question or comment on this newsletter, please send it to: editorial@spiritgeek.com or go to the online version of the Zeitgeist Newsletter.

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A Thought for Your Practice

We have many reasons and justifications we use to validate our belief that we have the authority to pass judgments. Sadly, the real purpose for this is to make us look or feel better about ourselves in one way or another.

From the perspective that all is perfect for its time and place, one cannot help but see judgments as a direct contradiction to this view. To judge anything as good or bad is to deny the perfection of all creation and those that inhabit it. Without judgment you just accept as "is" not concerning yourself with its validity.

So here is a little homework assignment:

This is a very simple exercise that if you are honest with yourself will give you both insight into your inner workings, but also areas that you may want or need to address. It is very simple in itself with the actual hard part being your willingness, or lack thereof, to look at yourself.

Take a look at your day today and choose something that you passed judgment on, good or bad.

Look at it very closely.

• What were you judging?
• Why did you make the judgment?
• What value did you get out of it?

We get value from our judgments, that is why we do it, in someway we always get something from them.

Start looking at the What and Whys behind your judgments and see where this takes you and what you start to learn about yourself.

Try it...

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Why Judgment Fails

In the Christian New Testament, we are told that Jesus taught his students, "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again" (Matthew 7:1-2 KJV).

In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali we are told a way of practicing this non-judgmental attitude, "By being friendly with the happy, by having compassion for the unhappy, joy in the virtuous and disregarding the wicked, we may retain the calmness of mind and spirit" (1:33 RAB/Sg).

The problem with passing judgment on things and actions is that you cannot possibly know all the facts and details in what is happening. Unless one is sociopathic we all do what we think is right. The problem is who's right is right?

When I go to Gay Pride there is always a group of people protesting with their signs about homosexuals going to Hell, they believe they are doing the right thing, trying to save my soul. When someone sleeps around, many would judge him or her a slut, but it may take this to learn that sexual conquest is only temporary and will not give them a continuous state of happiness.

It is like the old expression about not truly knowing another until you have walked a mile in their shoes. The point is that from our limited perspectives and complete lack of information we just cannot truly pass judgment on things. Spirit learns at its own pace and over many lifetimes.

When you see another going through a difficult learning experience, be there for them if they want it. Make yourself available to those learning lessons that you have already mastered and be willing to accept guidance from those who have learned more than you have.

Enjoy!

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Quotations

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it's another to think that yours is the only path.

Paulo Coelho

You can't depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus

Mark Twain

We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

When we judge another we say they are not perfect, but how could a perfect being create anything less?"

Spiritgeek

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Calendar & Announcements

"10 Secrets to the Secret"™ Discussions	Every Monday
The ongoing series of discussions on Robert/Spiritgeek's upcoming book, "10 Secrets to the Secret"™ due out this summer. Learn the 10 insights that have made the Law of Attraction come alive for so many and helped many more discover where they were unintentionally sabotaging themselves. From 3:00PM till about 5:00 at The Spot, 4455 Overland Ave, Culver City, in the back room. Come enjoy good coffee, excellent food and be part of the completion of the book.
"Frantic Friday" Radio Show	Every Friday
Reputation Label's "Frantic Friday" show with Johnny, Kris, the gang and Monkey on the internet live from 1:00PM-3:00PM PDT (4:00-6:00 EDT) from London. Music, conversation, some general mayhem and just a bit of Life Coaching from yours truly. Join us in the chat room during the show for another dimension of interactive radio.
Club Inspire U at Club Cobra	Jul 10, 2010
Date to be confirmed Spiritgeek.com has partnered with Inspire U Records in presenting Club Inspire U at Club Cobra in North Hollywood. From Kris Searle begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting, the creator of Club Inspire U: I wanted to create a place where people feel like it's a 'home from home' where you refresh and vitalize and you leave inspired. A place you can come and not be judged. You are accepted for who you are and for what you do. They aren't enough places like this so this is going to be a place where ideas will thrive and natural talent rules. Whatever it is.

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Fertilizer Happens

In this Issue

• Fertility Rites of Spring
• A Thought for Your Practice
• A Little Fertilizer
• Quotations
• Calendar & Announcements

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Fertility Rites of Spring

May Day is here, and if there was a better time for fertility rites, I cannot think of when it would be. The height of spring, plants are blooming, animals are starting the next generation of younglings and the humans are dancing around Maypoles and completely clueless why in most cases.

In the Celtic calendar it was Beltane, the mid-season holiday between Eostar, the spring equinox, and Litha, the summer solstice. It symbolized the joining of the "May King" and "May Queen" and the rebirth of the world as the dancing of the May Pole.

In all this, I find my life going along with this ancient calendar. Around the time of Eostar, when the "Lord or Lady of Creation" as sometimes referred to returns from the underworld to begin the restoration of life in the world, I had laid the groundwork for putting my personal underworld behind me and starting into a new existence.

Now Beltane is here and I find that my creativity is peaking and new life is starting all around me, including the growth of possibilities for my future. Thoughts that were just ideas a short time ago have begun to germinate into new and fascinating realities.

However you celebrate or enjoy this time of year, be open to the growth of new ideas and things around you. Be aware of not yanking them out like weeds since they were not there last year. It is a new year and a new season, be aware and open to it.

If you have content you would like to pass along or to submit your own content, a question or comment on this newsletter, please send it to: editorial@spiritgeek.com or go to the online version of the Zeitgeist Newsletter.

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A Thought for Your Practice

What new ideas have come into your life? What changes are trying to manifest in your life and how have you prepared the changes that you may actually want and/or need?

This month, we are going to look within and see what is trying to manifest in our lives and how we are helping or inhibiting that manifestation.

So here is a two part homework assignment:

1. Take a notepad or something to write on while you do this exercise. You may also want to leave the pad next to your bed if more comes in your dreams.
   
   Sit down and let your mind quiet itself, not focusing on anything in particular and letting those random thoughts that come and go pass like clouds in the sky. The beginning is about letting the mind get used to quiet, not being attached to every thought that comes in and through it.
   
   After a few minutes, say five to ten, place your intention into your head. For this exercise, try something like "What new life in my being is striving to grow, to come into my existence." If that doesn't do it for you, find some variant of the idea that speaks to you and hold it for a few more minutes.
   
   After a few minutes, you may start to notice new ideas and inspirations, write them down in as much detail as they come to you. Let it run freely, this is not about perfection, but about letting your mind receive from your Spirit without the tendency to ignore it or leave it on the side of the road, so to speak.
   
   Feel free to leave your notes on the nightstand, I find many of my best inspirations come while I am asleep and not consciously filtering EVERY thought through some process of judgment that I learned from those around me and life itself, this is about seeing with new sight of possibility.
   
   
2. Take some time to look over the list of ideas and inspirations that come up for you, where do they take you? Feel free to go over the list and see what you have written, what does it bring to mind and how does it affect you to see?
   
   I have found that the first part of this exercise often gives me insights into some of the unique ideas I get and that reading them over and pondering them starts to inspire me as to what directions to start with to make them realities.
   
   Remember that you are ALWAYS creating; it is not only your birthright, but it is impossible for you not to create, it is strictly a matter of what it is you are going to create. Look over your list, see which items are of interest, which you wish to follow and, finally, I would suggest you look at the strangest one and start on it.
   
   Find the one that you want the most, but tend to tell yourself is least possible or probable and work on it, even as just a hobby. Once you have brought it forth, you will know that nothing is impossible for you.

Try it...

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A Little Fertilizer

This morning, I wrote something on Facebook and Twitter basically saying that in all lives there is an amount of crap. If we take that crap and use it to help in the growth of what we want, then we find that it was not really crap, but really fertilizer.

I remember as a kid when it would be time to fertilize the yard and once or twice my grandparents garden, how I hated that job. All this stinking stuff and hard labor, but after a few short weeks, the ground would start to give forth.

Now of course I never hung around long enough to be aware of it at the time and it was not until much later that I became aware of it, at the time it just stunk to high heaven.

Everything that happens in life that seems like it must be fertilizer is happening for a reason, take a moment and look into what is really going on and how it is making you think and feel? You will find that if you look deep enough into the fertilizer of your life that it will make you ready to germinate the seeds of the future if you just give it a chance.

When the fertilizer hits the fan, look into what it leaves and see what you have chosen to learn through this particular drama. Everything happens for a reason and it is up to you to find out why, of course you can always go the other way and avoid what you are trying to teach yourself. Your choice, but in my experience the next time around will make the current crap smell like roses, your choice!

Enjoy!

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Quotations

Perseverance gives power to weakness, and opens to poverty the world's wealth. It spreads fertility over the barren landscape, and buds the choicest flowers and fruits spring up and flourish in the desert abode of thorns and briars.

Samuel Griswold Goodrich

Fertility of mind does not furnish us with so many resources on the same matter, as the lack of intelligence makes us hesitate at each thing our imagination presents, and hinders us from at first discerning which is the best.

François de la Rochefoucauld

The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds.

David Hume

As the children of God, all that God has is our birthright. Why would anyone settle for our current state of existence? Find your God intended state and see how ecstatic you will be.

Spiritgeek

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Calendar & Announcements

"10 Secrets to the Secret" Discussion Series	May 10, 2010
Date to be confirmed This will be the first in a series of discussions on Robert/Spiritgeek's upcoming book, "10 Secrets to the Secret" due out this summer. Learn the ten insights that have made the Law of Attraction come alive for so many and helped many more discover where they were unintentionally sabotaging themselves. For details, keep an eye on the Meetup Group and the Facebook Fan page for all the details as well as RSVP since the venue has a limited size.
Birthday of Robert/Spiritgeek	May 19, 2010
A party to celebrate the 45th birthday of Robert/Spiritgeek or as Robert prefers; the 29th anniversary of the journey that has become Spiritgeek.com is in the planning and details will be announced shortly.
Club Inspire U at Club Cobra	Jun 5, 2010
Date to be confirmed Spiritgeek.com has partnered with Inspire U Records in presenting Club Inspire U at Club Cobra in North Hollywood. From Kris Searle, the creator of Club Inspire U: I wanted to create a place where people feel like it's a 'home from home' where you refresh and vitalize and you leave inspired. A place you can come and not be judged. You are accepted for who you are and for what you do. They aren't enough places like this so this is going to be a place where ideas will thrive and natural talent rules. Whatever it is. A special thanks to all those who came to our premier event in April! Not only did you make it an amazing evening, but you also were enthusiastic enough that we were invited back to make Club Inspire U a MONTHLY event! Thank You!!!!

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The Authenticity of Responsibility

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Mar 23, 2010

Well, it seems that we had a bit of a technology problem getting the newsletter out and since it is SO late, I have decided to make this the official Marpril Issue and postpone the next issue until May, 2010.  With everything going on at Spiritgeek.com lately (see the new Calendar & Announcements section) it will give me a little more time to prepare.

So see you in May with the next newsletter.

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In this Issue

• Responsibility: A Price for Awakening
• A Thought for Your Practice
• Awareness
• Quotations
• Calendar & Announcements

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Responsibility: A Price for Awakening

Last month I wrote about Love and how to learn to love oneself, for how can we love others or be loved by others if we do not love our self?

This month one thing I really became aware of is how our Love can be expressed through our integrity in personal responsibility and awareness of what is around us.

I have been asked on several occasions "Why is the world such a $%!* hole?" and "Why would a loving God allow _________?" The simple answer is that God has nothing to do with it, God gave us free will and that is where we keep taking it.

Where this usually falls down is in the areas of responsibility and awareness. Without either of these, as humans, we tend to become self-absorbed and completely clueless. This is the beginning that has in the past lead to the darkest moments in the history of humanity.

We like to think that we are enlightened beings, completely incapable of cruelty, little less selfish behaviors. In my experience, the closer we get to the source of our being the more capable we are of some of the worst atrocities imaginable.

I am currently reading "Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, & the Truth about Reality" by Brad Warner (with a title like that, how could I not be attracted to it?) where he writes the following:

It is only when people believe that their beliefs are above questioning, that their beliefs alone are beyond all doubt, that they can be as truly horrible as we all know they can be. Belief is the force behind every evil mankind has ever done. You can't find one truly evil act in human history that was not based on belief--and the stronger their belief, the more evil human beings can be.

I think it is not belief that gets us into trouble, but when we insert our ego that it is beyond all doubt. At this point we have given up responsibility and given it to someone or something else. Great if you are looking to avoid it, but not particularly helpful to one's growth.

Responsibility is an absolutely requirement if we wish to manifest in our lives. Some define it as a burden, but it should not be a burden to be true to your word and that is why it is a requirement. To manifest your wants or wishes, you have to be true to the thoughts and/or words, when you say "Let there be light" you have to have the force of support that it is said, so it be done.

This is going to be a tough month to get through the newsletter, but trust me, writing it was even harder as I have had to face up to my own shortcomings in the process. As humans in the modern world, we are given the opportunities to "back out" of our word and we tend to take those outs, hence we destroy the integrity of those words.

The good news is that the integrity of our words can be restored in short-order and the power regained nearly immediately.

PS

Sometimes it is interesting to see how the writing turns out, this came out completely different from what I had originally planned. But as with all things in being "...where Life and Spirit become One! ™" they sometimes make interesting turns.

If you have content you would like to pass along or to submit your own content, a question or comment on this newsletter, please send it to: editorial@spiritgeek.com or go to the online version of the Zeitgeist Newsletter.

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A Thought for Your Practice

How can we become aware of where we have sold ourselves out and regain what we may have given away?

As humans we sell out our authenticity for a myriad of reasons, to be liked, to get along with those around us and sometimes because it is just so much easier to be something other than what we truly are. It seems to be a general symptom of being human.

So here's a couple of homework assignments:

1. Watch what you say and become aware of when you say things you do not really mean or make promises that you will not fulfill.
   
   Catch yourself when you speak with in-authenticity, this clues you into the subconscious programming that you will need to address and change. Just becoming aware of it and catching yourself will begin the reprogramming of these unconscious habits so that not only do you speak intentionally, but your subconscious will know that you speak in truth and truth will be what comes forth.
   
   
2. As you become more aware of speaking truth, the next place to work on is to be true to your word. If you say that you are going to do something, do it. No excuses, reasons or justifications as they are just tools of not being true to your word.
   
   Of course there will be occasions when you just cannot fulfill what you have set out before you, when this happens, get back into alignment with your word. Apologize if necessary and restate your intentions and then follow through.
   
   One thing that happens with this is that we begin to see where we overextend ourselves and maybe promise too much for whatever reasons. When honoring our word becomes a priority and we reestablish the validity of our word, we reclaim the power to speak and make it so.

Try it...

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Awareness

I hope that these last few newsletters have started awakening the recognition of a common theme, awareness. It is through awareness of what we say and do that we become knowledgeable about ourselves and the world around us. As you practice retaking control of your little corner of the cosmos, the universe begins to recognize the power in your word.

The outcome of this recognition of authenticity is that we cannot help but begin to create with intention, we cease to manifest by default, in other words we begin intentionally to make the life and circumstances that we want. Imagine what becomes possible to you!

Take the awareness of this true you and take it out into the world, then you can begin to expand the awareness to those in your life and see how your actions and thoughts affect everything you come into contact with. Always explore your awareness!

Beware of the fact that you will begin to see your awareness expand outside just yourself, it will begin to encompass the space you exist in and then grow even beyond that. Allow it to progress and remember that you are part of everything and that everything is part of you.

I find that you cannot help but become more considerate and understanding of others as your awareness, or as a friend of mine would call it "Presence," grows and becomes a larger and larger part of your day-to-day existence.

Enjoy!

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Quotations

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself.

Henry Ward Beecher

I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.

John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime.

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

I have always tried to be true to myself, to pick those battles I felt were important. My ultimate responsibility is to myself. I could never be anything else.

Arthur Ashe

Man's worst enemy is not the Devil or those who hate him, man's worst enemy is himself. The Devil may tempt, and those who hate may try to harm, but only I make the decision what to do with it all.

Spiritgeek

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Calendar & Announcements

Club Inspire U at Club Cobra	Apr 17, 2010
Spiritgeek.com has partnered with Inspire U Records in presenting Club Inspire U at Club Cobra in North Hollywood. From Kris Searle, the creator of Club Inspire U: I wanted to create a place where people feel like it's a 'home from home' where you refresh and vitalize and you leave inspired. A place you can come and not be judged. You are accepted for who you are and for what you do. They aren't enough places like this so this is going to be a place where ideas will thrive and natural talent rules. Whatever it is. On April 17th my band and I will feature and we will have a special guest performing... You can also WIN a couple of sessions with one of our sponsors SpiritGeek.com an amazing life coach and spiritual healer and someone will WIN a prize from our other sponsor REAL SPIRIT so come on down and WIN!!!
Spiritgeek Finally Opens	Apr 19, 2010
Finally the doors open for clients and services on a full time basis. Coaching and Teaching is now available during regular business hours as well as the current evening and weekends. Contact Robert via telephone, email or the website to schedule appointments. Remember that there is a FREE 30-minute session to both experience what is open to you and also to begin determining what areas of your life you would like to begin to maximize and excel in.
Birthday of Robert/Spiritgeek	May 19, 2010
A party to celebrate the 45th birthday of Robert/Spiritgeek or as Robert prefers; the 29th anniversary of the journey that has become Spiritgeek.com is in the planning and details will be announced shortly.

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Love is Love

In this Issue

• Love is...
• A Thought for Your Practice
• Love is Presence
• Quotations

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Love is...

February is here and I hear that Cupid has placed a large order of arrows to shoot into the unsuspecting butts of couples everywhere. OK, that is about all the "traditional" Valentines you are going to get here!

I have written about six different versions of this newsletter this month but trashed them all because they just did not come across as authentic and of value. I went from silly Valentines fluff to a history of Valentines in general to a REAL dark piece that would have been a better Halloween issue (not sure where that one came from).

Instead, I thought since the central theme of Valentines is supposed to be love, that will be the subject in differing forms, or at least what Love really is. Love is not about sex, infatuation or looking good with a pretty other on our arm, it is a tapping into the source of life, the motivating energy of creation and the beginning of finding our true source link with God.

Love is that one emotion that I sometimes doubt actually is an emotion. Emotions can take us to places that we never imagined and so can Love, but in my personal experience, only Love can make one step out of their own personal world and do something completely altruistic.

The Apostle John wrote "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) Only Love can bring this out of all those sleeping souls we see around us all the time. I find that when we truly Love that we attract the universe to sit at our feet and become our partner instead of our adversary.

Look at small children and pets, they love unconditionally and fully until they have it trained out of them. A Pit Bull has a reputation for being a dangerous and vicious dog, but it actually is an amazing family pet, it actually has to be trained to be mean and dangerous to people. We as people come into the world loving and learn to be otherwise.

Here's wishing you a Happy Valentines and all the love you could possible handle and then more!

If you have content you would like to pass along or to submit your own content, a question or comment on this newsletter, please send it to: editorial@spiritgeek.com or go to the online version of the Zeitgeist Newsletter.

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A Thought for Your Practice

How can we give true love to our families and other "loved" ones if we cannot love ourselves?

Loving oneself is not about becoming a vain, self-absorbed individual but about accepting one for who and what they are. If there are things you do not like about yourself, you can modify them, a new haircut, a diet program or something but even then you have to be able to love and accept yourself.

So here are a couple of homework assignments:

1. When you have the time, take a sheet of paper and divide it down the center. In the left column, write down all the things you love about yourself and in the right those things you do not, or even hate bout yourself.
   
   First, look at the things you do not like or hate. What is it about each of them that keeps you from accepting and/or embracing them?
   
   For myself I had many issues about my body, I was too fat, I did not have a "handsome" face, etc. I decided finally to do something about the weight issues and embarked on a weight-control program. I started to watch my eating more closely and began exercising on a regular basis. I lost ten pounds and liked what I saw in the mirror much more than what I had previously, I was headed in the right direction for me (I have since lost a total of 40 pounds and put on a fair amount of muscle so that I am REALLY liking what I see when I pass the mirror).
   
   As far as my face went, when I started to see the changes in my face from the weight loss, I was much happier with it as well. I will never push Brad Pitt or George Clooney of People Magazine's "Sexiest Man" list but I actually find myself cute with what looks back in the mirror. I also noticed that the facial features that tended to predominant in the men I found attractive already existed in my face if I was just willing to see them.
   
   Perfection is something that is taught from outside ourselves. Know that you are perfection incarnate and that your issues can be corrected through work or perception. Perception is most often the source of our self-depreciating views of ourselves.
   
   
2. If the above is more than you can handle at the moment, remember that you are a creation of a perfect being that does not make mistakes. How can you be anything less than perfection in that case?
   
   Instead of dwelling on your "perceived" faults, focus on your positive points and start there. Do not spend too much time worrying about others thoughts on the subject. In time and with a bit of study we find that most of outside perception is more about them then you. I know a beautiful young lady that used to feel absolutely terrible about herself to the point where she was considering suicide.
   
   Many around her tried to reassure her that she was actually quite adorable but she could not or would not see it. A mutual friend took her out for a makeover and it was amazing the transformation in perception that occurred with just a change of clothing, makeup and hairstyle. She had taken herself to such a dark place that she had contemplated ending things when what she needed were just a few simple changes.
   
   Will this simple of a change work for everyone? Of course not, but change can be a great catalyst for opening our perception to a shift in judgment, not only in ourselves but others.

Try it...

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Love is Presence

In many traditions we describe God as Love and creation as a manifestation of that Love. I find that if we truly meditate on love and its power we are taken to places that are unavailable otherwise.

One of my earliest experiences of Spirit that started me on the path that I have been following for 29 years (figuring that one out was an eye-opener) involved my being opened to an experience of presence that was filled with nothing but love. I am not going to go into the details at the moment, but love would have been the LAST thing I expected to come out with.

When people speak about love, they often are referring to infatuation or severe like, sometimes we think of the intimacy of a relationship as love and sadly some people associate sex as love. Love can encompass all of these but love can also include people that you consider completely unlikable.

True love is about accepting and praising everyone for who and where they are in their growth. Those that are further on their growth are often easy to love but when you can love that most annoying neighbor and the "bad" man you hear about on the news.

If we truly love, we find that it is about love and nothing else. Love is not about their "being" anything but what they are. Love is not about acceptance of their actions or thoughts or their acceptance of yours. Love is not about trading tit-for-tat or negotiating.

Love is only truly Love when it is given freely with no strings attached, no obligations on the receiver and given for the purpose of giving it alone. Anything less is at best only partial love and likely even less.

When we give Love, true Love, whatever happens becomes a gift in our experience and an offering of the Spirit. Give Love to those you have the hardest time with and see how it changes your perception of both them and of yourself.

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Quotations

Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.

Robert A. Heinlein

Love is a promise, love is a souvenir, once given never forgotten, never let it disappear.

John Lennon

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.

Mother Theresa

There are four questions of value in life... What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love.

Johnnie Depp
as "Don Juan deMarco"

God must love us, why else would he put up with us?

Spiritgeek

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Fresh Beginnings

In this Issue

• Resolutions or not...
• A Thought for Your Practice
• Endings create Beginnings
• Quotations

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Resolutions or not...

A New Year and Decade are upon us and once again it is time for that lovely tradition, the New Year's Resolution.

Personally, I do not like making resolutions for a couple of reasons. First, I seem to make too many at one time and it throws my ability to fulfill any of them out-of-whack. Secondly, I would rather make changes as they appear throughout the year; when I quit smoking it was in mid-December and my personal weight loss program has been an on-again-off-again issue for a while.

Instead of resolutions, I prefer to start little projects that go through the year. Last year I started a "Read the Bible in a Year" project, but I only made it through the Major Prophets before I stopped and traded it out for something a little more current, like Paramahansa Yogananda's "The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You" (a commentary on the New Testament). Yes, I went back to the prophets and finished the Old Testament, eventually...

I find New Years are far more productive for me if I spend a little time looking over the past year and seeing patterns of behavior or lessons I may have missed. I will re-read my journal entries, my blog entries as well as anything else I have written or said over the year. It never ceases to amaze me what I miss in the moment, but see in review.

Here's wishing you a Happy and Joyous New Year; may it bring all you could possibly ask for and then some!

If you have content you would like to pass along or to submit your own content, a question or comment on this newsletter, please send it to: editorial@spiritgeek.com or go to the online version of the Zeitgeist Newsletter.

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A Thought for Your Practice

We are SO close to the day-to-day occurrences of our life that it becomes ridiculously easy to miss what is really happening to and around us. We are so "into" the moment it's like not seeing the forest through the trees.

One of my teachers wrote a metaphorical interpretation of the first verse of the Bhagavad-gita which basically says we should end each day in review and seeing what lessons were put before us, where we succeeded, where we could have done better or something different and sometimes where we outright blew it.

One important thing to remember is that even when we think that we seriously f'ed up some event of the day, do not judge yourself to harshly. It is just a lesson, you may not have passed it but if you learned from the error, you have not wasted anything, it had a purpose.

I recently realized that I have had a recurring theme of journaling in the newsletter and I am going to do this one as well. If a New Year's Resolution is required, here's mine; to follow through on this just as I am asking you to, mine is at spiritgeek-journal.blogspot.com.

So here's a little homework assignment:

Take whatever form you prefer, a Diary or Journal you have purchased from the local stationers, an extra spiral notebook (I have WAY too many of these), a blogging service and make it as private as you wish or even set up a vlog (video log/blog).

Write/Record/Document at least one thing a day. You can make it as long or short as you want, there is no real right or wrong way to do this.

The idea is just to begin creating a record of your life, what strikes you as interesting (or not), things you thought about or activities you did.

When you have been doing this for a bit, feel free to go through it and re-read your entries, you might even want to create a summary entry of what jumps out at you. Obviously the more you put down, the more material you have to work with.

If you have any particular issues that you want to deal with, feel free to include them as well. I have been on a weight-reduction program for a while and have lost 40 pounds and been pretty consistent at going to the gym three days a week and riding my bike every day. I may stop tracking this on my calendar and make it part of my journaling as well as insights and activities.

There is a reason why several programs use journals to help people deal with their issues; simply if used honestly, they work. Try it...

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Endings create Beginnings

One of my favorite books of all time, Frank Herbert's "Dune" has a line that I have always pondered, "A beginning is a very delicate time." Beginnings may include the creation of first impressions, new thought patterns and/or expressions of self, amongst other possibilities.

When you think about it though, to have a beginning, something else must end. This is the beginning of a new year and decade, an old year and decade have ended.

Often we overly concern ourselves with the ending and forget that every ending also creates a new beginning as well. It's like the Tarot deck and its card "Death" with a picture of the Grim Reaper, often this card worries people though it usually represents an ending of something, not a physical death.

If the idea of resolutions for new behaviors are too daunting, then use the other side of the coin, do not try to add something new, but remove something old and clear the space for something new to fill that newly created void, see you did create after all.

By the way, not all endings have to stay ended. If you determine that there is some ending you have created that is not really what you wanted, end the ending and restore it. One benefit of living in a world like this one is that we can make decisions, but we can also reverse them.

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Quotations

What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.

T.S. Eliot

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

Lao Tzu

Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

'Where there is a will there is a way'.' is an old true saying. He who resolves upon doing a thing, by that very resolution often scales the barriers to it, and secures its achievement.

Samuel Smiles

Tradition is like a great old tree. It usually looks beautiful and serves a purpose, but unto itself, it cannot take you anywhere. So like a tree, use it as a starting point or marker on your journey.

Spiritgeek

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