desertwind

Breathe deeply, and relax the muscles throughout your body. Reflect on how very fortunate you are to be alive and aware in this universe that's overflowing with positive possibilities.

Give yourself a peaceful break. Give your spirit the opportunity of resetting to a more positive perspective, and it will.

In a few short moments, you can easily and naturally break free of any negative pattern in which you may have been caught. You'll be vastly better positioned to effectively respond to whatever life sends your way.

Instead of acting out of anger or frustration, fear or anxiety, you'll be able to choose your actions based on your own positive purpose. Instead of being caught up in the grip of negativity, you'll be calmly and firmly in control.

When the negativity starts to get overwhelming, choose to interrupt it with a positive, peaceful break. You'll find it can make a profound and positive difference.

-- Ralph Marston

Fill your days with discovery, and you will fill your life with valuable knowledge. Fill your hours with caring, compassion and respect, and you will fill your world with love and friendship.

Fill your thoughts with positive possibilities, and the best things in life will surely be within your reach. Fill your words with encouragement and enthusiasm, and you'll often find people and circumstances lining up in your favor.

Fill your efforts with purpose, persistence, diligence and integrity. And your life will be filled with valuable achievements.

Fill your heart with a love of truth and goodness. And your soul will be filled with the treasure of wisdom.

Your life is a most precious gift. Fill every corner of it with the best that you can.

-- Ralph Marston

Today, cold season is starting here in my place (Saudi Arabia). Our place is totally covered with fog even until 7 o'clock in the morning. Humidity is very high & I can inhale the tiny water particles in the air. My eyeglasses is so moisty when I am outside & when I am driving to work, I gotta use the wiper to see the road. In few days, rain will be expected to come. Rainy season before the cold season comes is now a usual thing here in Saudi Arabia, and based on what I have observed in the last few years, rainy days are getting longer. Strange huh? Here in my place, huge drainage systems are already installed, the installation started last year after we got flooded here due to heavy rains.

The more compelling the reason, the more magnificent the level of accomplishment it supports. The more meaningful the reason, the more powerfully it will drive you to new heights.

Seek to know and fully understand why you do what you do. And the effectiveness of what you do will improve dramatically.

Live each moment in the purpose of a powerful vision. And those purposeful moments will bring great value to your world.

With a strong reason, the obstacles cannot stop you. With a strong reason, the setbacks will be unable to dissuade you.

Get clear about the reason for whatever you set out to do. And you will indeed get it done.

-- Ralph Marston

Last week I was driving along one of the major highways around Toronto. I had some good music playing on my stereo and the weather was wonderful. I am always a careful driver, so my attention was focused on my driving, but my thoughts were elsewhere. Suddenly, I noticed the sign warning that the highway was coming to an end just ahead. Only then did I realize that I had missed my exit!

Has that sort of thing ever happened to you? This situation is an excellent illustration of why I consider the message of "Mindful Awareness" to be so very important. Consider that all of us are traveling down the highway of life. Each of us has an idea of which route we would like to be taking, but we must be constantly mindful or else we risk missing our turning points.

Sometimes a missed turn can be fixed by taking another turn and circling back. Sometimes an even better route presents itself. But sooner or later everyone will find themselves at the end of the highway and many people will be unprepared for the sudden ending of the journey. "I was so sure that the highway was longer than this!" they'll say.

My speaking, my book and my coaching all have a common goal. The entire point of my message to the world is to ensure that you don't reach the end of your highway only to look back and say: "Had I known that it was going to end at this time, I would have made some different turns. I was sure that there would be time to change my course."

This is why I am constantly urging people to be mindful of the present moment. This is why I encourage people to acknowledge, accept and even embrace their own mortality. One of my key principles is something that I call "The Mortality Manifesto". It is a very powerful one page document and I invite you to read it for yourself. Then I invite you to share it with your family and friends, because we are ALL traveling down the highway of life.

- By Patrick Mathieu

In fact, you can very easily change the past. You simply must do it before the past becomes the past.

This moment where you are right now will soon be in the past. So now is your golden opportunity to assure that it will be a past you'll be pleased to have.

With care and focus, with love, discipline and positive intention, you can do just that. You can change what will soon be the past into the best that it can be.

Imagine not having to wonder what would have happened if only you had been a little more careful, thoughtful or diligent. Imagine living your life with no regrets.

Imagine it, and know that right now is your chance to make it so. Use this moment to give yourself a past that won't need any changes at all.

-- Ralph Marston

Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

John Wooden

We are armed with language adequate to describe each leaf of the field, but not to describe human character.

Henry David Thoreau

The frustration you experience is created by you. It is a product of your own mind and your own ego, and cannot exist without your support.

Your frustration is a choice. And just as easily as you can choose to experience it, you can also choose to let it go.

Remember that the next time you feel frustrated. Remember that it does not have to be.

Frustration blinds you to the best possibilities, and puts valuable resources out of your reach. There is no question that you'll be far more effective without that frustration.

So when you find yourself frustrated, choose right then and there to raise your awareness to a higher level. See how useless and unnecessary that frustration really is.

Then let it go, and free yourself to move quickly ahead.

-- Ralph Marston

Human achievements cannot be measured simply in terms of wealth, power or fame. Such accomplishments belong to a small group of elites who are blessed with special talents and good fortunes. Basking in the glory of success and wielding immense influence, they are idolized, envied or feared, but not trusted.

According to Viktor Frankl, great human achievements can also come from great suffering. Ordinary people can become extraordinary heroes when they maintain their spiritual freedom, human dignity, and compassionate heart in the midst of unimaginable horrors. They witness to us that the defiant human spirit and character strength can carry us through impossible circumstances. They achieve greatness not through talents but through perseverance. Overcomers like Dr. Frankl evoke our affection and trust, because they inspire us to live with greater courage and optimism.

A couple of weeks ago, I received a letter from a troubled parent. After reading my article on the pervasive problem of terror and violence, he asked: "What can I do to protect my children and bring them up in such a dark and dangerous world?" I have been wrestling with this haunting question ever since.

After much reflection, I can think of only one answer - character. Nothing can be compared with character in terms of lasting values. If we can instill in our children the kind of unassailable character and moral fortitude exemplified by Viktor Frankl in Nazi concentration camps, we have given them what is needed to survive the worst of adversities.

At the end of one's journey, when the applauses or jeers become distant memories, when victories and defeats no longer matter, all we possess is our character. In spite of our flaws and failures, if we are able to keep our integrity intact throughout the bruising battles, we can die with a smile on our lips and peace in our hearts.

Good character is like a rare pearl, a precious diamond - it takes years to form and develop. According to a Chinese proverb, pure gold fears no fire; character is gold. Character cannot be overrated, because as individuals and as a species, our survival and success depend on it.

Character defies the odds, sets us free from all the deterministic forces, protects civil society against all the corrupting influences and assures that good will triumph over evil. It is character that steers us through troubled waters and deadly minefields. Character is the foundation for all virtues, and the basis for all enduring and caring relationships. Character is the pinnacle of spiritual achievement and it defines the best of humanity. Above all, character is priceless - it is the only property that cannot be acquired by money or force; it can only be developed through a lifetime of cultivating spiritual and moral habits.

In every generation and every nation, our greatest need is men and women of good character, who dare to do what is right, choose the road least traveled and follow a higher calling. They are the light and salt of the world; for without them, there would be no way to stop those with unbridled ambitions, insatiable greed and unmatched intellect for evil.

What kind of quality do you want to see in your president, pastor, partner, physician, or any person of significance in your life? Who do you want to trust with your life and children? People with character!

Character makes all the difference in real life situations. Without it, intelligence, competence, courage, creativity, resourcefulness, even love could all be used to exploit others and perpetrate evil. For example, one can be an intelligent crook, a loving seducer or a courageous murderer.

Often, we have to devise defensive strategies and plan for the worst, because we have been betrayed and burnt far too many times. We can relax and enjoy the relationship, only when we are working with someone with sterling character. The quality of life for both individuals and society depends on the character of its citizens.

Character is essentially a collection of habits. What matters most in character formation is not religious belief, nor knowledge of moral precepts, but the consistent habit of doing the right thing in difficult situations. What really counts is the consistent discipline of making ethical decisions in good times and bad times. It is through consistent moral and spiritual habits that we develop and reveal our character.

- Paul T. P. Wong 

Are you a captive of your past? Or have you released the past and liberated yourself from its hold on you? When you refuse to allow your history to imprison you, you choose a path of self-determination. Letting go of the past is your personal declaration of independence from anything in your earlier years that could limit your creative potential or prevent you from living your best life.

How can you tell if past events are still having a negative effect on you today? Here are three signs to look for:

1. Certain situations trigger extreme, out-of-control emotional reactions. It feels as if you go on auto-pilot and have little or no control over the way you feel or behave once certain internal buttons have been pushed. For example, Marta trembles with fear at the thought of asserting herself with her boss, who overburdens Marta with an excessive workload. Joe goes into a rage when he believes he is being accused of making an error, however insignificant. Ben is consumed with jealousy when he catches his girlfriend smiling at a stranger.
   
   
2. All of the logical solutions and practical approaches to changing your out-of-control reactions have failed. Your head may say this is ridiculous but you can't stop yourself from over-reacting with anger, sadness, fear, shame, guilt, or jealousy to a situation that just doesn't merit that kind of emotional energy.
   
   
3. You keep making the same unhealthy choices over and over again. Although you may vow that you are going to set a new course, your default mode is set on self-destruct. You can't seem to keep yourself from repeating the same self-sabotaging mistakes - even though you know better. Elizabeth continues to have relationships with married men, despite years of heartache from other married lovers. Mark lies to his manager and coworkers, although that behavior led to Mark's dismissal from his last two jobs.

1. Reclaim your power by refusing to think of yourself as a victim. This does not mean you deny the bad things that have happened to you. Rather, it means you embrace your wholeness rather than your brokenness. Everything you have lived has strengthened your psychological immune system. Recognize your capacity to thrive in spite of the hardships that have come your way, and watch your life begin to mirror your more empowered sense of Self.
   
   
2. Retire your need to blame anyone--including your self--for your present unhappiness. Blame only weighs you down with unnecessary baggage that inhibits you from moving forward. Release blame and feel yourself lighten up.
   
   
3. Forgive yourself for your mistakes. Everybody makes them - that's how we learn. Stop berating yourself with your so-called failures, and use that extra energy to create the life you desire today. Choose to learn from past transgressions, forgive yourself, and move on.
   
   
4. Make peace with your past. If certain unpleasant memories still hold a high degree of emotional charge, let a qualified therapist assist you in healing those wounds to loosen the psychological hold those traumatic episodes have on you.
   
   
5. Change the thoughts you entertain about yourself. Monitor your mental landscape to avoid habitual, self-limiting ways of thinking. When you catch yourself engaging in old thought patterns like, "I don't deserve to be happy," or "I'm not good enough" - deliberately choose new thoughts that feel better to you.
   
   
6. Stop using your past as a point of comparison to your present and future. No matter what you have lived before, today can be different. Instead of focusing on how your life has been, place your attention on how you want your life to be. Keep your eye on the road ahead rather than the one behind you, and watch your life take you to the places you have dreamed of going!

As you let go of your past, you free yourself to live the life you truly desire. Step into the Now, and discover the unlimited potential for joy that awaits you there.

- By Eve Delunas