“As we look deeply within, we understand our perfect balance. There is no fear of the cycle of birth, life and death. For when you stand in the present moment, you are timeless.” — Rodney Yee

The thought of death often brings about feelings of fear, doubt, anxiety, confusion, etc. It is unfortunate that in our society we do not better prepare ourselves for the complete cycle of birth, life, and death.

In Michael Newton’s books, Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls, the author explores life between lives. They are books unlike any other book on reincarnation as they deal with the moments between each lifetime as well as the past and future lives of our souls.

If you are dealing with the grief of losing a loved one, this book can bring wonderful comfort as it validates that the person you love is not really gone and how their souls can continue to communicate with you through quiet contemplation and meditation and removing any blocks of doubt.

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.”
— Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

Feeling overwhelmed by deadlines, goals, ambitions, expectations? Sometimes the actual feat seems so much bigger when you look at it as a whole. Take a few deep breaths and see what the task on hand is made of actually.

If you have a goal of losing weight, maybe even a lot of weight, is it all going to disappear at once? No. You will lose it pound by pound, week by week. The same goes for any large goal. Writing a book, page by page. Renovating a house, room by room. Building a relationship, date by date.

A big mountain may seem stuck in one place, but you could actually move it if you started piece by piece, pebble by pebble.

“Change is inevitable, growth is intentional.”
—Glenda Cloud

When things fall apart, it can be seen as a test and also can be seen as a form of healing. But it is not always a test that you either pass or fail. Sometimes it is just observing how things can come together and how they also can fall apart. The healing happens when you release control of the situation and allow for these things to happen as they need to. You also allow for the necessary emotions to come and most importantly go as they need to; be it grief, joy, love, anger, whatever.

The reality is we may not truly ever know how situations are going go. Something we believe will bring us great joy may bring us great sorrow. Something we feel will bring only grief and misery may actually bring joy and pleasure. Sometimes we think we’re at the end of it all but it turns out we are at the beginning of something else.

The reality is that change is inevitable and life teaches us that things are always in transition. When things seemingly fall apart, other things are being built up. Experience each situation that life gives you to its fullest and then keep on moving to the next moment in the now and intentionally grow into you.

“I even moved to a new city, where nobody knew me. [...] Well, I found that moving didn’t help. I had taken myself with me.”
— Neale Donald Walsch

When things are just not going well, it’s such a wonderful thought to change your surroundings. Just move away from all the challenges in your life. New place, new home, new people around you, new distractions. At least at first. Only one small little oversight, you go wherever you move. And if things aren’t right with you where you are right now, chances are it may have little to do with where you live and more to do with the way you are living your life.

Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t move. But while you are going, take a look at all the assets you want to bring with you. Don’t immediately toss out the ones you think are “negative” either. Just like certain furniture, you can save your assets by giving them a quick polish.

As Neale Donald Walsch states, “All of your so-called faults, all the things which you don’t like about yourself are your greatest assets. They are simply over-amplified. The volume has been turned up a bit too much, that’s all.”

So take an inventory: stubborn equals strong, flighty equals spontaneous, angry equals passionate, etc. All you have to do is use these behaviors differently, not throw them out. These “negative” ways of being can be turned into gifts when used properly and with the right amount of energy.

“When the student is ready, the master appears.”
— Buddhist saying

Making changes in your life is something for which you may have to mentally prepare yourself. As I have mentioned before, change begins when you make the decision to do so. It is the catalyst that starts the engine of change going along it’s new tracks.

Certain new goals you decide on could use some outside guidance or instruction or support. Your new decision for change will subconsciously send out the message that you are ready to accept guidance and assistance for this new journey. So be ready for the “master” to appear. And even more so, be ready to accept the guidance or wisdom offered to you at that moment of synchronicity.

“Nothing is more tragic than someone who has sight, but no vision.”
— Helen Keller

What is the vision of your future? If you were to project yourself into the future, say five years from now, on the current path you are heading, what do you see? Are you happy, are you living to your fullest potential?

Now, take this one step further. If you were to make some changes in your life that you have been contemplating but haven’t quite made the leap in that direction — see yourself in five years from that point with these changes influencing your path. What’s different? What’s better?

I had help projecting myself into the future and was pleased and motivated by the second level of being. If I were to leave my inhibitions behind and just go for it, what a difference it would make in my life, even five years down the road.

Sometimes even the most logical changes to be made are difficult to commit to since they are not immediately rewarded. Quitting smoking, losing weight, building a successful business, to name but a few goals, these take time and considerable effort to achieve and then maintain. A month or even a year down the road doesn’t necessarily mark the end of the goal or the complete rewards for your efforts. But five years, ten years, twenty years will definitely see the mark of these positive changes.

“Successful people are not without problems. They’re simply people who’ve learned to solve their problems.”
— Earl Nightingale

The universe rewards action. If you have a goal, but you don’t have a plan, it actually could more accurately be called a wish. And even more so, if you have problems and you reason that if you run away from them or turn your back on them, they will somehow just disappear, you may be running for a long time.

That doesn’t mean that you should stop dreaming. It is those thoughts that will help you create your reality. Realize though, that there will not be a magic pill that suddenly changes everything to good in your life. But there can be a magic mindset that allows you to see the situation from a different perspective.

Be a success. Face your problems. Work on them. Set goals and take actual action steps to bring you closer to solving them. Review your goals and see what areas still need work. Revise your goals if your ego has tricked you to make them unattainable, and therefore sabotaging your efforts right from the get-go.

Live in the now. Be grateful for all you have in your life and be responsible for everything that is happening in the present moment, for you are creating the stepping stones for your future “now”.

“Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.”
—John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), speech at The American University, Washington, D.C., June 10, 1963

I recently heard an “internet-marketing guru” give some advice on the best way to create a successful business. The first step is identifying what an existing problem is and then figuring out how to solve that problem. Once you find the solution, you sell it and help others who have the same problem.

This made me think how this could apply to our lives as well. When we are trying to change our lives for the better, the first step would also be identifying what the problem areas are in our life.

This awareness of the problem is the beginning of finding the solution. To truly change you need to learn from the problem. Learning, in turn, involves doing something new with your life. And success is selling yourself on the answer.

“You lose your balance when you say, ‘I will not accept what is happening to me.’”
— Marilyn Eileen Charlton, Life on the Causal Plain, A Glimpse of Heaven

You lose your own intuitive guidance when you don’t accept what is happening to you in your life. The main goal for change is to become balanced again. In the simplest terms we are all striving for balance in our lives. However, because in real life we are always in a state of change, balance doesn’t mean motionless or perfection. This real life balance comes by going with the flow of life and accepting even the times that are not as easy to understand or to accept.

Life is not simply a predetermined destination. It is the journey that we are on every day. There may be unexpected curves and turns in the road we are on. We may encounter low valleys and high mountains. However, with each step we take on this journey, we are shaping who we are and who we will become. And with this adventurous path, every day, we will discover the best in ourselves — if we accept what happens to us along the way.

“It’s the squeaky wheel that gets the grease” — Proverb

There are a lot of people who do not like complainers. And really, I can understand that. I am not a fan of people who like to talk on and on about things that are going wrong in their lives, or the traffic jams on the way to work, or their nasty in-laws, etc. You know what I’m talking about. You see them coming and you hide because you know it is just going to be the same old, same old complaints.

But then there is the other side — not complaining and not standing up for what you deserve. I also see many people “take” whatever is dished their way with no complaints. Many have been brought up to believe that it is impolite or improper to stand up for yourself. So they lay low and don’t complain.

But as with many things, there are times when it is good to be the squeaky wheel. When you see injustices going on around you or you yourself are living through one. Stand up and let people know that you know it isn’t right. And more than just saying it isn’t right, find some sort of action to take to change the situation. If you are whining about your situation and do nothing about it you are a victim. If you complain about your situation and take action to change it you are a champion.