I came upon a delightful book in my travels this week. The author is Kelly Corrigan (http://kellycorrigan.com) and her new work is entitled, Glitter and Glue. The book is based on a comment her mother once made. It seems in their family her father was the glitter and her mother was the glue. I knew I had to blog about that. What a wonderful metaphor! Then I thought about Mardi Gras this week. Talk about glitter! But have you ever... Read more
It’s funny how “stuff” from growing up can still be echoing in our minds far into adulthood. I was taught by my father that we’d never have enough money and that there would always be more bills than money. Sometimes our family couldn’t get ends to meet, but at least if the ends waved at each other in passing we felt like we’d accomplished something. Perhaps you were taught that you had to work hard to make a living. You... Read more
Make no mistake about it; the Sochi Olympics had millions of people around the world glued to the big screen for much of February. The experience was so intense for some people, that in Canada, very few even slept on Sunday as they opted to get up as early as 4 a.m. (or just stay awake) to watch that final gold medal hockey game that closed the nearly three-week long love affair with all things athletic. Medal counts and... Read more
“There is a difference between having an open mind and believing something because we want it to be true.” When I heard that on NPR I had to pull over to write it down. It is imperative that we keep an open mind when we live a life that is based on thinking positively. Circumstances may not always turn out the way I expect them to, but in the long run it is always for the best…even if it takes... Read more
One of the most subtle ways that we get in the way of ourselves is to resist the change that we want to see. It’s easy to recall Ernest Holmes’ mantra “change your thinking, change your life” when we’re in the midst of moving ourselves forward into a new level of consciousness, but the mind is a tricky thing and we can quickly sabotage our own efforts by taking that path of least resistance. Of course it never really... Read more
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Thanks to mass marketing wanting us to believe everyone should be in a fairy tale relationship, February 14 can mean expectations from those in relationships and gloom for singles. Someone told me that Valentine’s Day doesn’t matter because “it is just a made-up holiday” and, therefore, we really don’t need to celebrate it since it’s really about retail sales of chocolate and flowers. A word to the wise? If you feel this way... Read more
When I was a little boy my mother used to sit down with me a few days before Valentine’s Day and help me make up my list of classmates. She told me it was very important that I not leave anyone out, because everyone was deserving of love and there was no limit on it. Those were wise words, but I dreaded Valentine’s Day regardless. Each year it was easier to fear the cards I may not receive than... Read more
We are now in the midst of the Season for Peace & Nonviolence. It begins with the anniversary of the assassination of Mahatmas Gandhi on January 30th and ends with the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King on April 4th. The season is meant to highlight the value and importance of living in peace and nonviolence, in love, harmony and respect for all humankind. It’s aimed at getting us into the habit of discovering and actualizing ways... Read more
There are an unlimited number of advertisers vying for our attention. Many of these suggest that if we look like, smell like or sound like the digitally-enhanced and airbrushed models in the ads our lives will be complete. It’s a marketing ploy that says, “If you have this (whatever this is), you’ll be happy,” even though looking like those models, even if we wanted to, is usually physically impossible. I live and teach a philosophy that encourages us to make... Read more
This past week, actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his home, reportedly with a needle in his arm and evidence indicating he had suffered a heroin overdose. By the time this blog is posted, many details and more will probably be confirmed, but it was a sad ending for a man who, by all appearances, was capable of so much. What struck me the most though was not that Hoffman had possibly died of a drug overdose, or... Read more
The Principles of Spiritual Living
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