Video: Pain Pushes to the Vision

Dr. Rob shares his thoughts on seeing pain as a gift of the Universe. Allowing yourself to push through the pain to the change and vision ahead.

Transcription: Read more

Walking through when doors open

When a door opens, walk through it. Trust that the door has opened for a reason and you have been guided to it. Sometimes we have a tendency to overanalyze or agonize over the decision, but it is quicker to simply go through the door and discover what’s there as that’s the only way to know. Even if it doesn’t seem right at first, opening this door may lead to another door that will take us where we need to go.

Doors open when the time is right for us to enter a new space, metaphorically speaking, and we can have faith that walking through is the right thing to do. Sometimes we linger in the threshold because we are afraid of leaving our old life for a life we know nothing about. We may have voices inside of our heads that try to hold us back or people in our lives saying discouraging things. These voices, internal and external, are known as threshold spirits, and they express all the fears and doubts that arise at the beginning of a new life. Nevertheless, none of these voices can hold us back, and they will fall silent as soon as we cross the threshold.

There are many doors that open in the course of our lives, leading us into new relationships, jobs, friendships, and creative inspirations. Our lives up to this point are the result of all the doors we have walked through, and our continued growth depends on our willingness to keep moving into new spaces. Every time we walk through an open door, we create a sense memory that encourages us to move into the new fearlessly. When we enter the new space, we almost always feel a thrill and a new feeling of confidence, in ourselves and in the universe. We have stepped across the threshold into a new life.

~Reprinted with permission from DailyOM.com

The changing nest

Once individuals become parents, they are parents forevermore. Their identities change perceptively the moment Mother Nature inaugurates them mom or dad. Yet the role they undertake when they welcome children into their lives is not a fixed one. As children move from one phase of their lives to the next, parental roles change. When these transitions involve a child gaining independence, many parents experience an empty nest feeling. Instead of feeling proud that their children have achieved so much—whether the flight from the nest refers to the first day of kindergarten or the start of college—parents feel they are losing a part of themselves. However, when approached thoughtfully, this new stage of parental life can be an exciting time in which mothers and fathers rediscover themselves and relate to their children in a new way.

As children earn greater levels of independence, their parents often gain unanticipated freedom. Read more

Prison of the mind

My experience tells me that mind, body and spirit are important. For me service must also be included, a purpose greater than myself. I work in San Quentin one or two days per week, working with the imprisoned men about change. I call my work “Life Work.” What I have found out is you do not need to be behind bars to be in prison. All suffering occurs not from the incident of what happens in life but the story we tell ourselves over and over. Happiness is living in the Now and also accepting things the way they are. Not trying to change reality.

Peace and Love,
Richard

Change what isn’t working

We have all had the experience of realizing that something in our lives is not working. This knowledge can come as a sudden realization or a nagging feeling of doubt that grows stronger, waking us up to the fact that something needs to change. Some people have a tendency to act rashly and make sweeping changes before even understanding what the problem is. Other people fear change, so they live with the uncomfortable awareness that something needs to shift but won’t do anything about it. Between these two extreme responses lies a middle way that can help us powerfully and gracefully change what isn’t working in our lives.

The first step is remembering that your life is made up of parts that belong to an interconnected whole. Changing one thing can change everything. Because of this, small changes often have a big effect. Read more

Women who inspire change: Helene’s interview

Environmental activist Helene Van Manen teaches us about earth medicine and self-care.

Helene Van Manen describes herself as a woman that is much like a western landscape. “I see myself as ever changing with the seasons, with a lot of texture and when seen at a distance, probably much different than when I am experienced up close.”

Judith: Thanks Helene for visiting with me and my readers here on my blog. What a wonderful visual you paint of yourself as a western landscape and a great metaphor for change. I have known you to be a wonderfully inspiring woman so I am anxious to hear your ideas. What type of changes would you like to talk about today?

Helene: I just turned 50 and with it comes changes that one just has to keep pace with. I am so happy Read more

Saturday thoughts: storms, change and more

Hi and Good Morning to All!

Good morning to you and all in the Universe. Our thoughts are on my mind,  today, surprise!. Another spectacular day today to share the good things in this life. The news we think not so good. But once again maybe not so bad, and maybe really good. The loss of a job. Ok, often hard or difficult to receive. But in fact this may be the news of good things to come. The opportunity we take to return to school or search for the job that will fulfill our life goal.  If we focus on the positive opportunities of life and the changes to improve our lives, each and every day, this is what shifts our thoughts of bad to good. Life is life, what the Universe decides or gives. Can we change it or anything in the universe? Don’t really know, but I know that we can change our thoughts and thus change all things.

Simply our thoughts of what it is. Storms will come and they will go. The harsh snow storm of 3 days ago led to the beauty of, the next day.  A sunny day and wonderful groomed and powder runs at Song Mountain, a local ski hill south of Syracuse. I took advantage of the beautiful day to snow board the afternoon. Read more

Clearing a space for change

In life, we tend to have an easier time acquiring possessions than we do getting rid of them. Just as we harbor emotional baggage that is difficult to let go of, our lives can tend to be filled with material objects that we may feel compelled to hold on to. Most people are not conscious of how much they own and how many of their possessions are no longer adding value to their life. They fiercely hold on to material objects because this makes them feel secure or comfortable. While it’s true that the ownership of “stuff” can make you feel good for awhile, it seldom satisfies the deep inner longings that nearly everyone has for fulfillment and satisfaction. It is only when we are ready to let go of our baggage and be vulnerable that it becomes possible to recognize the emotional hold that our possessions can have on us. Read more

What will change everything?

Become a student of change. It is the only thing that will remain constant. –Anthony J. D’Angelo

What Will Change Everything?:
Every year, John Brockman — who runs the nonprofit Edge Foundation in New York — asks a gaggle of forward-thinking people a provocative question. This is the Edge Annual Question for 2009: “What will change everything?” Writer David Bodanis suggests that some kind of massive technological failure would be game-changing. Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, says that reinventing industry to have less impact on the environment will alter the way we live. And Sherry Turkle, a psychologist at MIT, looks Read more

Worry, a self created state

We have all had the experience of worrying about something at some point in our lives. Some of us have a habitual tendency to worry, and all of us have known someone who is a chronic worrier. Worry is an extension of fear and can be a very draining experience. In order for worry to exist, we have to imagine that something bad might happen. What we are worrying about has not happened yet, however, so this bad thing is by definition a fantasy. Understood this way, worry is a self-created state of needless fear. Still, most of us worry. Read more