Your Best Life Is Waiting
Martha Beck shares her four-step process to get your life back on track. Stillness, truth, desire, trust...what area of your life do you need to work on the most? Take Martha's quiz!
By Martha Beck
O, The Oprah Magazine
January 01, 2006
Step Four: Trust Your Life To Unfold Perfectly
Why Trust Is Crucial
The way to let go of your soul's desires, to achieve nonattachment, is not to go into "martyr mode" and expect a life of blunted appetites or unmet needs. Letting go is the natural result of trust—trust that the Force, or God, or whatever you want to call it, fulfills its own nature by answering your soul's requests, once you have articulated them. To sit patiently with a yearning that has not yet been fulfilled, and to trust that, that fulfillment will come, is quite possibly one of the most powerful "magic skills" that human beings are capable of. It has been noted by almost every ancient wisdom tradition. If you can master it, you'll see your soul's desires being filled in ways that are often amazing, and sometimes flat-out miraculous.
Obstacles to Trust
One morning during the Miraval Spa contest-winners' retreat, I knew all the women had received certificates telling them to come get a free outfit from New Balance. When I asked them how they liked their new outfits, I discovered that every woman in the room had thrown away the gift voucher, because they assumed they would be charged for the clothes.
This became a touchstone experience for me, one I've thought about a thousand times since. Here the universe (in the form of a generous company) was trying to give these women a beautiful, free gift, and they were turning away from it without even knowing it was being offered because of their assumption that it would cost too much. If they had trusted their own eyes, they would have seen that the outfit was a gift. Instead, they trusted their pain, their disappointment, their hard-knock lessons that life is difficult and nothing's free. We all have many such experiences. We take away assumptions that all of life is painful, and that we can expect the same bad treatment from the world we may have experienced in limited situations during our childhoods or difficult adult years.
How to Trust
The inability to open up to hope is what blocks trust, and blocked trust is the reason for blighted dreams. Begin to hope again, then trust that your soul's desires are meant to be fulfilled.
You can start this with something small as an experiment. Choose a soul's desire that seems modest, like the desire to smell flowers or hear music. Make sure you identify something that's really coming from your core, but make it something fairly modest. Then, deliberately choose to trust that your wish will be fulfilled. Feel so sure of it that you don't even need the outcome, because you feel as if you already have it. Then watch and see. Be open to all ways in which your answer may come. Your trust will be rewarded.
I'm confident saying this because I've worked with thousands of clients over the years, and I've seen how trust works. It may mean an unexpected visit from a loved one, a chance to relax and have a quiet cup of tea, an opportunity to start your own business, the gradual unfolding of a childhood ambition.
A final exercise: Right now, make a list of every desire of your soul that has been fulfilled in the past. Then, taking each fulfilled wish one by one, recall the coincidences, strokes of "luck," generosity from other people or inspired ideas that helped you fulfill that desire. You'll find that your life has already been a linked chain of miraculous delights. And you have many, many more chains to come. Stillness...Truth...Desire...Trust...what area of your life do you need to work on the most? Take Martha's quiz!
More Martha Beck Advice
* 6 steps to see yourself more clearly
* Your guide to self-acceptance
* The best way to ask for what you want
Read more: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Your-Best-Life-Is-Waiting/4#ixzz1khUZjtRK
Friday, January 27, 2012
Survive a Confidence Crash
Survive a Confidence Crash
January 27, 2012
By Taryn Galewind
Regain Your Self-Confidence and Self-Love
If you don’t love yourself, it’s impossible to love anyone else. Self-confidence, feeling that you are truly terrific and a very special person, is key to self-love. However, there isn’t a human who hasn’t suffered a flaming crash of confidence at one time or another.
You lose your job. You fail in a project that means the world to you. You and your best friend have a huge falling out. Your love life turns to dust. What do you do when you want to paint a big red “L” for loser on your forehead? Toss the paintbrush, and nurse yourself back to confidence health.
Acknowledge that you feel like day-old manure and wallow in self pity for exactly one day. Go ahead. Get a pint of decadent ice cream and a box of tissues. Spend all of Saturday brooding on how truly pathetic you feel.
Next, put away all that angst, no rehashing permitted. Take a luxurious bath, put on something you absolutely love to sleep in, and get a good night’s rest.
In the morning, gather your thoughts and figure out how the situation went awry. Consider, casually, how to avoid the same pitfalls in the future, but don’t pressure yourself.
“Whenever you are feeling stuck and are lacking confidence, you can go back and imagine and feel the joy associated with the times when you experienced success.” – Psychic Martisse ext. 5335
Get busy the next day or two doing things you like, especially things that benefit others. In bits and pieces, let your thoughts wander gently to how you feel. Acknowledge the feelings but don’t try to change them.
Set aside mandatory meditation time each day for the time being. Find an overcoming obstacles CD you can love. Use it in your meditation.
Set aside an hour to quietly write a written inventory of your finest points. Be very, very generous. Study the list and choose one or two you’d like to enhance.
“One of the most important things I remind people to do is count their blessings.” – Psychic Quinn ext. 5484
Find a friend you can trust with your deepest secrets and talk this all out. Tell your friend you’re not looking for solutions or for rescue, just someone to listen.
Write or find some affirmations you can tape to your mirror, load into your phone, and commit to memory. Say them every day until you’re back on track.
It boils down to being kind to yourself. Forgive yourself your mistakes—better yet, welcome them and see how they can help you grow. The best way to bounce back when your confidence is flattened is to bless yourself in the light of your value.
Open your eyes and open your heart to bask in the brightness of your self-worth. Give your soul a kiss.
January 27, 2012
By Taryn Galewind
Regain Your Self-Confidence and Self-Love
If you don’t love yourself, it’s impossible to love anyone else. Self-confidence, feeling that you are truly terrific and a very special person, is key to self-love. However, there isn’t a human who hasn’t suffered a flaming crash of confidence at one time or another.
You lose your job. You fail in a project that means the world to you. You and your best friend have a huge falling out. Your love life turns to dust. What do you do when you want to paint a big red “L” for loser on your forehead? Toss the paintbrush, and nurse yourself back to confidence health.
Acknowledge that you feel like day-old manure and wallow in self pity for exactly one day. Go ahead. Get a pint of decadent ice cream and a box of tissues. Spend all of Saturday brooding on how truly pathetic you feel.
Next, put away all that angst, no rehashing permitted. Take a luxurious bath, put on something you absolutely love to sleep in, and get a good night’s rest.
In the morning, gather your thoughts and figure out how the situation went awry. Consider, casually, how to avoid the same pitfalls in the future, but don’t pressure yourself.
“Whenever you are feeling stuck and are lacking confidence, you can go back and imagine and feel the joy associated with the times when you experienced success.” – Psychic Martisse ext. 5335
Get busy the next day or two doing things you like, especially things that benefit others. In bits and pieces, let your thoughts wander gently to how you feel. Acknowledge the feelings but don’t try to change them.
Set aside mandatory meditation time each day for the time being. Find an overcoming obstacles CD you can love. Use it in your meditation.
Set aside an hour to quietly write a written inventory of your finest points. Be very, very generous. Study the list and choose one or two you’d like to enhance.
“One of the most important things I remind people to do is count their blessings.” – Psychic Quinn ext. 5484
Find a friend you can trust with your deepest secrets and talk this all out. Tell your friend you’re not looking for solutions or for rescue, just someone to listen.
Write or find some affirmations you can tape to your mirror, load into your phone, and commit to memory. Say them every day until you’re back on track.
It boils down to being kind to yourself. Forgive yourself your mistakes—better yet, welcome them and see how they can help you grow. The best way to bounce back when your confidence is flattened is to bless yourself in the light of your value.
Open your eyes and open your heart to bask in the brightness of your self-worth. Give your soul a kiss.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The 5-Step Path to a Life of Love
The 5-Step Path to a Life of Love
From: Lesson 21: Love Doesn't Hurt
By Deepak Chopra
November 07, 2011
Deepak Chopra, co-founder of the Chopra Foundation and co-author of the new book War of the Worldviews: Science vs. Spirituality, reveals how to create a life founded on the world's most generous and joyful emotion.
Love has arrived at a strange crossroads. It seems very odd to say, "I want to be more loving. Is there a scientist who can help with that?" But in modern life, our notion of love has shifted. More and more we are told—in magazines, learned journals and media reports—that love can be broken down into medical explanations, that it is produced by reactions in the brain, both chemical and electrical. We may wish that love is divine, ideal and life-transforming, the news says, but to be realistic, we should throw out our old, unscientific notions and learn more about what the brain is doing to us.
I strongly oppose such a view of love—in fact, it frightens me. On the spiritual side, there's a completely different and higher view of love, which goes something like this: Love is part of creation, woven into the very fabric of the universe. We love one another because we have tapped into nature at a deeper level. Yes, the brain is responsible for giving love its physical expression, yet ultimately, love comes from the soul.
A catchy phrase from an old pop song said, "Love the one you're with." Although you can journey outside yourself, the person to give your love to (and who, in return, must return that love), in truth, the one you are with every minute of the day, is yourself. The more rewarding way to find it is to go inward to the very source of love. If you do not do this, your love will depend on your mood swings, on how others see you and on the lovable and unlovable traits you see in yourself and others.
As soon as we measure people by what is lovable and unlovable, trouble arises. The unlovable person is labeled odd, an outsider, bad or an enemy. We create unhappiness instead. We practice nonlove, that voice inside that whispers in our ears, "They are different from us." Or, "Fight for what you want and don't quit until you win." Or, "When bad things happen to other people, it's their own fault."
We need to restore love as the key to happiness—a difficult task. That's why we need a spiritual path, so that we can walk away from nonlove and its confusions. Here are five basic steps that can lead you to a new life where everyone, most especially yourself, is worthy of loving and being loved.
Step 1: Believe in Love
When you say, "I love my work," or "I love my partner," you are expressing belief and showing faith in something outside yourself. As good as that is, even better is to have faith in love as part of yourself. When anyone asks me, "How do I find the right one?" I always give the same advice: To find the right one, become the right one. Belief in love is a spiritual kind of belief. It holds that love exists as a universal quality, outside ourselves, that can never be defeated, only covered over. Thus love and nonlove are not equals. Love is permanent; nonlove is temporary.
Step 2: Don't Limit Love to a Few People and Deny It to Others
It's very common to say: "I love my own children, and I love my neighbor's children. But when it comes to my kids, I love them more." That's perfectly understandable. But there's a spiritual teaching, going back thousands of years, which goes "The world is my family." If love is universal, no one can be left out. To leave others out of your love is the same as inviting them to leave you out too.
Step 3: Make the Search for Love an Inward Search
Often we feel loved and insecure at the same time. The one we love is somebody we invest in emotionally, and emotions, by definition, are changeable. The one you love may turn indifferent or worse. The problem here is a kind of illusion. When you take someone into your heart, it's like filling a hole inside. If that person should spurn and reject you, suddenly the hole reappears as a terrible ache. Yet the hole was always there, and only you can fill it permanently. Ultimately, the inward journey is about finding your own fullness, something that no one else can take away.
Step 4: Seek Other People Who Value Love As Much As You Do
There's an old tradition: If you want to be wise, be in the company of wise people. I'd say the same is true about love. If you want to know about any human experience, seek out those who have walked the path of that experience. In our society, we are embarrassed to talk personally about truth, compassion, faith and love. This inhibition is part of our insecurity. Think of spirit as a community; it's not a talent you develop like a teenager learning to play the guitar. Perhaps community is too big a word, however. Perhaps you can start by finding one person who is wise in the ways of love, who knows what it means to live at a deeper level. That's a wonderful step in the right direction.
Step 5: Believe in Love As a Powerful Force
The first four steps depend on this one, believing that love has its own power. This is a power to transform. It's a power that cuts through doubt, suspicion, distrust and even hatred. Unless love has its own power, there are too many reasons to act from nonlove. We see all around us people who madly pursue pleasure or money or status because they don't trust in love. Without such trust that love can make a difference, of course you will pursue surrogates. Pleasure, money and status are compensations when love is absent or too weak to transform your life. No one has to give up on such surrogates, but it makes a huge difference to know that they are nonlove. The power of love is that it dissolves nonlove. That's the kind of power you find on the spiritual path.
None of the steps is automatic. Each takes work and practice. But now, more than ever, it's all important to reinvent the spiritual side of love. The steps may not be easy, but they are not impossible either. You only need to follow them with all your heart.
Read more: http://www.oprah.com/oprahs-lifeclass/Deepak-Chopra-The-5-Step-Path-to-a-Life-of-Love#ixzz1kUyB4MlS
From: Lesson 21: Love Doesn't Hurt
By Deepak Chopra
November 07, 2011
Deepak Chopra, co-founder of the Chopra Foundation and co-author of the new book War of the Worldviews: Science vs. Spirituality, reveals how to create a life founded on the world's most generous and joyful emotion.
Love has arrived at a strange crossroads. It seems very odd to say, "I want to be more loving. Is there a scientist who can help with that?" But in modern life, our notion of love has shifted. More and more we are told—in magazines, learned journals and media reports—that love can be broken down into medical explanations, that it is produced by reactions in the brain, both chemical and electrical. We may wish that love is divine, ideal and life-transforming, the news says, but to be realistic, we should throw out our old, unscientific notions and learn more about what the brain is doing to us.
I strongly oppose such a view of love—in fact, it frightens me. On the spiritual side, there's a completely different and higher view of love, which goes something like this: Love is part of creation, woven into the very fabric of the universe. We love one another because we have tapped into nature at a deeper level. Yes, the brain is responsible for giving love its physical expression, yet ultimately, love comes from the soul.
A catchy phrase from an old pop song said, "Love the one you're with." Although you can journey outside yourself, the person to give your love to (and who, in return, must return that love), in truth, the one you are with every minute of the day, is yourself. The more rewarding way to find it is to go inward to the very source of love. If you do not do this, your love will depend on your mood swings, on how others see you and on the lovable and unlovable traits you see in yourself and others.
As soon as we measure people by what is lovable and unlovable, trouble arises. The unlovable person is labeled odd, an outsider, bad or an enemy. We create unhappiness instead. We practice nonlove, that voice inside that whispers in our ears, "They are different from us." Or, "Fight for what you want and don't quit until you win." Or, "When bad things happen to other people, it's their own fault."
We need to restore love as the key to happiness—a difficult task. That's why we need a spiritual path, so that we can walk away from nonlove and its confusions. Here are five basic steps that can lead you to a new life where everyone, most especially yourself, is worthy of loving and being loved.
Step 1: Believe in Love
When you say, "I love my work," or "I love my partner," you are expressing belief and showing faith in something outside yourself. As good as that is, even better is to have faith in love as part of yourself. When anyone asks me, "How do I find the right one?" I always give the same advice: To find the right one, become the right one. Belief in love is a spiritual kind of belief. It holds that love exists as a universal quality, outside ourselves, that can never be defeated, only covered over. Thus love and nonlove are not equals. Love is permanent; nonlove is temporary.
Step 2: Don't Limit Love to a Few People and Deny It to Others
It's very common to say: "I love my own children, and I love my neighbor's children. But when it comes to my kids, I love them more." That's perfectly understandable. But there's a spiritual teaching, going back thousands of years, which goes "The world is my family." If love is universal, no one can be left out. To leave others out of your love is the same as inviting them to leave you out too.
Step 3: Make the Search for Love an Inward Search
Often we feel loved and insecure at the same time. The one we love is somebody we invest in emotionally, and emotions, by definition, are changeable. The one you love may turn indifferent or worse. The problem here is a kind of illusion. When you take someone into your heart, it's like filling a hole inside. If that person should spurn and reject you, suddenly the hole reappears as a terrible ache. Yet the hole was always there, and only you can fill it permanently. Ultimately, the inward journey is about finding your own fullness, something that no one else can take away.
Step 4: Seek Other People Who Value Love As Much As You Do
There's an old tradition: If you want to be wise, be in the company of wise people. I'd say the same is true about love. If you want to know about any human experience, seek out those who have walked the path of that experience. In our society, we are embarrassed to talk personally about truth, compassion, faith and love. This inhibition is part of our insecurity. Think of spirit as a community; it's not a talent you develop like a teenager learning to play the guitar. Perhaps community is too big a word, however. Perhaps you can start by finding one person who is wise in the ways of love, who knows what it means to live at a deeper level. That's a wonderful step in the right direction.
Step 5: Believe in Love As a Powerful Force
The first four steps depend on this one, believing that love has its own power. This is a power to transform. It's a power that cuts through doubt, suspicion, distrust and even hatred. Unless love has its own power, there are too many reasons to act from nonlove. We see all around us people who madly pursue pleasure or money or status because they don't trust in love. Without such trust that love can make a difference, of course you will pursue surrogates. Pleasure, money and status are compensations when love is absent or too weak to transform your life. No one has to give up on such surrogates, but it makes a huge difference to know that they are nonlove. The power of love is that it dissolves nonlove. That's the kind of power you find on the spiritual path.
None of the steps is automatic. Each takes work and practice. But now, more than ever, it's all important to reinvent the spiritual side of love. The steps may not be easy, but they are not impossible either. You only need to follow them with all your heart.
Read more: http://www.oprah.com/oprahs-lifeclass/Deepak-Chopra-The-5-Step-Path-to-a-Life-of-Love#ixzz1kUyB4MlS
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Taking Control!! by Judy France
Taking Control!!
Taking Control is for people who want or need to take control over their own lives and weight loss and who want to do things their own way. Everyone is welcome here, so jump right in!
Basic Rules:
1. Pick your own eating and exercise plan.
2. DO NOT judge others for their diet and exercise plans.
3. STOP the negative self-talk. It does nothing to help you.
4. Post as often as you can. More posting equals more success.
5. Support other members.
6. No required weigh-ins or participation. You choose what you want to do. ALWAYS!
NOW MAKE YOUR OWN RULES OR ADD TO THESE. WHATEVER YOU DO, DO IT YOUR WAY!
Taking Control is for people who want or need to take control over their own lives and weight loss and who want to do things their own way. Everyone is welcome here, so jump right in!
Basic Rules:
1. Pick your own eating and exercise plan.
2. DO NOT judge others for their diet and exercise plans.
3. STOP the negative self-talk. It does nothing to help you.
4. Post as often as you can. More posting equals more success.
5. Support other members.
6. No required weigh-ins or participation. You choose what you want to do. ALWAYS!
NOW MAKE YOUR OWN RULES OR ADD TO THESE. WHATEVER YOU DO, DO IT YOUR WAY!
Monday, January 16, 2012
What It Means to Love
30 Amazing Facts About Love
January 16, 2012
By Psychic Agnes
Remember What It Means to Love (and Be Loved!)
Humanity always stands above all of Earth’s other beautiful creatures because of our wonderful capacity to love. Our affections and emotions lead us through a lifetime of enjoying and discovering boundless devotions. Love moves the human spirit and surrounds the heart that dwells within it. A passion that crosses the bounds of time is one of the best things anyone can ever find. Love is pure, purposeful, and amazingly quite unconditional. Most of us will climb mountains which are never high enough just to touch the magnificent thing that is love. Such unfiltered bliss is very difficult to resist. Therefore, it becomes the ultimate promise. Here is a list of thirty facts about love and the way love acts or reacts:
1. Love is a bond which pulls and clings together. It is capable of lasting always and forever.
2. Love is unlimited by time. It is imprinted to feel and remain current in one’s mind.
3. Love is more than a good feeling. It has the ability to beckon constant healing.
4. Love is manifesting in many ways. It shows emotional, mental, and physical displays.
5. Love is easy to recognize and acquire. It is fueled by open, honest, and true desire.
6. Love is instant and constant gratification. It lessens the harm of any difficult situation.
7. Love is the antidote to hate and dislike. It brings and keeps peace even if there is defeat.
8. Love is free, freeing, and freedom. It welcomes anything you wish to do or become.
9. Love is quiet and still when waiting patiently loses all will. It keeps focus on the feel.
10. Love is simple and plain. It doesn’t require much nonsense or playing emotional games.
11. Love is often the reason why we will give something a try. It is foolish, but doesn’t lie.
12. Love is who you are at your best. It soothes troubles and puts hard worrying to rest.
13. Love is like a friendly smile. Its duration can be short, but the impact lasts awhile.
14. Love is self-supporting. It has a way of understanding, ignoring, or reasoning anything.
15. Love is why we have the zeal to live. It allows us to start over, renew, and forgive.
16. Love is a reason to hope. It keeps you going, makes you strong, and helps us cope.
17. Love is seemingly somehow perfect. It surprises and advises, but shows respect.
18. Love is sure and securing. It protects, provides, and stays at your side.
19. Love is worthy of sacrifice. It chooses what’s wanted over something quite nice.
20. Love is nourishing to the mind, body, and soul. It makes your happiness its primary goal.
21. Love is submissive. It has no problem accommodating, comforting, or giving.
22. Love is happiness. It gives more than less, expects success, and wishes you all the best.
23. Love is the will to survive. It pushes you to fight for life and remain alive.
24. Love is faithful. It will commit and remain steady whenever it is ready.
25. Love is pure. It is natural, clear, and does not succumb to fear.
26. Love is painless and productive. It has panache and flair that is willingly seductive.
27. Love is beautiful. It can take just about anything and make it appear wonderful.
28. Love is contentment. It knows what it does and all that it has meant.
29. Love is proof and proved. It withstands anything and will not be moved.
30. Love is caring and kind. It gives so much, yet it knows just when to get tough.
Love is all of the above and so much more. It is a hallmark of humankind that we’ve known and experienced since the beginning of time. Our endeavors, dreams, and pursuits are often just means to getting to that most important feeling. Love simply encompasses everything, and its intrinsic worth is a blessing. Without love, I’d find it almost impossible to enjoy living. We all must determine for ourselves what love means, where it is found, how it is described, when it is present, and why it is important. I’ve just listed some of the facts I’ve learned during my lifetime. However, I think it is best to first love yourself and spread that love to someone else.
January 16, 2012
By Psychic Agnes
Remember What It Means to Love (and Be Loved!)
Humanity always stands above all of Earth’s other beautiful creatures because of our wonderful capacity to love. Our affections and emotions lead us through a lifetime of enjoying and discovering boundless devotions. Love moves the human spirit and surrounds the heart that dwells within it. A passion that crosses the bounds of time is one of the best things anyone can ever find. Love is pure, purposeful, and amazingly quite unconditional. Most of us will climb mountains which are never high enough just to touch the magnificent thing that is love. Such unfiltered bliss is very difficult to resist. Therefore, it becomes the ultimate promise. Here is a list of thirty facts about love and the way love acts or reacts:
1. Love is a bond which pulls and clings together. It is capable of lasting always and forever.
2. Love is unlimited by time. It is imprinted to feel and remain current in one’s mind.
3. Love is more than a good feeling. It has the ability to beckon constant healing.
4. Love is manifesting in many ways. It shows emotional, mental, and physical displays.
5. Love is easy to recognize and acquire. It is fueled by open, honest, and true desire.
6. Love is instant and constant gratification. It lessens the harm of any difficult situation.
7. Love is the antidote to hate and dislike. It brings and keeps peace even if there is defeat.
8. Love is free, freeing, and freedom. It welcomes anything you wish to do or become.
9. Love is quiet and still when waiting patiently loses all will. It keeps focus on the feel.
10. Love is simple and plain. It doesn’t require much nonsense or playing emotional games.
11. Love is often the reason why we will give something a try. It is foolish, but doesn’t lie.
12. Love is who you are at your best. It soothes troubles and puts hard worrying to rest.
13. Love is like a friendly smile. Its duration can be short, but the impact lasts awhile.
14. Love is self-supporting. It has a way of understanding, ignoring, or reasoning anything.
15. Love is why we have the zeal to live. It allows us to start over, renew, and forgive.
16. Love is a reason to hope. It keeps you going, makes you strong, and helps us cope.
17. Love is seemingly somehow perfect. It surprises and advises, but shows respect.
18. Love is sure and securing. It protects, provides, and stays at your side.
19. Love is worthy of sacrifice. It chooses what’s wanted over something quite nice.
20. Love is nourishing to the mind, body, and soul. It makes your happiness its primary goal.
21. Love is submissive. It has no problem accommodating, comforting, or giving.
22. Love is happiness. It gives more than less, expects success, and wishes you all the best.
23. Love is the will to survive. It pushes you to fight for life and remain alive.
24. Love is faithful. It will commit and remain steady whenever it is ready.
25. Love is pure. It is natural, clear, and does not succumb to fear.
26. Love is painless and productive. It has panache and flair that is willingly seductive.
27. Love is beautiful. It can take just about anything and make it appear wonderful.
28. Love is contentment. It knows what it does and all that it has meant.
29. Love is proof and proved. It withstands anything and will not be moved.
30. Love is caring and kind. It gives so much, yet it knows just when to get tough.
Love is all of the above and so much more. It is a hallmark of humankind that we’ve known and experienced since the beginning of time. Our endeavors, dreams, and pursuits are often just means to getting to that most important feeling. Love simply encompasses everything, and its intrinsic worth is a blessing. Without love, I’d find it almost impossible to enjoy living. We all must determine for ourselves what love means, where it is found, how it is described, when it is present, and why it is important. I’ve just listed some of the facts I’ve learned during my lifetime. However, I think it is best to first love yourself and spread that love to someone else.
Friday, January 6, 2012
"Love and anger" by Robert Genn
Love and anger
January 3, 2012
Dear Artist,
During the past year, Canada's Leader of the Opposition Jack Layton, died of cancer at the age of 61. In his final message Jack said, "My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world."
These words resonated across our country. It has always struck me that both love and anger are two of the main motivators in the making of art. Both emotions can work equally well. It's just that love is so much the more pleasant of the two.
Discouraged early on by economic conditions, disabilities, contrarian parents, peer pressure, teachers or others, a few artists are able to fight the uphill battle to overcome or at least channel their anger. Daily they are driven to "show the world."
Other creatives take a more gentle, loving path. It can be a love of some particular someone, a family, a principle, a passion or a charity. It can be that peculiar and miraculous state of simply doing something for the love of it. Each work we produce is our very own baby brought into the world for a span that may extend beyond ours. It's been my observation that these main brands of working love can be bound together into a wholesome bundle where tangible, finished work is key to hope, optimism and a sense of well-being. "Work," said Kahlil Gibran, "is love made visible."
The finding of love within our work unlocks the studio and prompts the actions of hand and mind. The extraordinary prevails and even ordinary and well-trodden subject matter can be freshly explored and rejuvenated. One might even be blessed with the aura of popular greatness. "He alone is great," said Gibran, "who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving."
In my last letter of the old year I mentioned the gentle productive hum of studios. Between the turning on and the turning off of the lights there's a span of privilege. Held steady by the gentle hand of love, we begin, we keep going, and we sign off. There may not be a higher calling.
Best regards,
Robert
PS: "In the arts, as in life, everything is possible provided it is based on love." (Marc Chagall)
Esoterica: One of the great features of studio life is the capacity for renewal. Daily love manifests itself and is a fairly reliable prod. Some projects can be measured in no time at all. Sometimes three or four projects can be performed and completed in a single day. Other projects progress over days or weeks, dependent on the uncanny sleep-work that lies between. "Love does not just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new." (Ursula K. LeGuin)
January 3, 2012
Dear Artist,
During the past year, Canada's Leader of the Opposition Jack Layton, died of cancer at the age of 61. In his final message Jack said, "My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world."
These words resonated across our country. It has always struck me that both love and anger are two of the main motivators in the making of art. Both emotions can work equally well. It's just that love is so much the more pleasant of the two.
Discouraged early on by economic conditions, disabilities, contrarian parents, peer pressure, teachers or others, a few artists are able to fight the uphill battle to overcome or at least channel their anger. Daily they are driven to "show the world."
Other creatives take a more gentle, loving path. It can be a love of some particular someone, a family, a principle, a passion or a charity. It can be that peculiar and miraculous state of simply doing something for the love of it. Each work we produce is our very own baby brought into the world for a span that may extend beyond ours. It's been my observation that these main brands of working love can be bound together into a wholesome bundle where tangible, finished work is key to hope, optimism and a sense of well-being. "Work," said Kahlil Gibran, "is love made visible."
The finding of love within our work unlocks the studio and prompts the actions of hand and mind. The extraordinary prevails and even ordinary and well-trodden subject matter can be freshly explored and rejuvenated. One might even be blessed with the aura of popular greatness. "He alone is great," said Gibran, "who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving."
In my last letter of the old year I mentioned the gentle productive hum of studios. Between the turning on and the turning off of the lights there's a span of privilege. Held steady by the gentle hand of love, we begin, we keep going, and we sign off. There may not be a higher calling.
Best regards,
Robert
PS: "In the arts, as in life, everything is possible provided it is based on love." (Marc Chagall)
Esoterica: One of the great features of studio life is the capacity for renewal. Daily love manifests itself and is a fairly reliable prod. Some projects can be measured in no time at all. Sometimes three or four projects can be performed and completed in a single day. Other projects progress over days or weeks, dependent on the uncanny sleep-work that lies between. "Love does not just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new." (Ursula K. LeGuin)
Monday, January 2, 2012
Slim Down Secrets From Women Around the World
http://www.ivillage.com/slim-down-secrets-women-around-world/4-b-371513?nlcid=td|01-02-2012|#371523
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