Archive for the Category ◊ Awareness ◊

09 Aug 2010 Wake Up And Live In The NOW
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Are you fully awake and living in the NOW?

Just the other day I was watching the program “Positive Living” on PBS. Well actually to begin with the program was on in the background, until I heard a statement that really caught my attention:

Over 90% of all adults live
their lives asleep.

What? Could this really be possible?

I looked up the definition of sleep (ok we all know what sleep is, well sort of right? But there is still much we do not know.)

One definition included these words:
A natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended.

The words in bold caught my attention. This is what was meant by the statement: Over 90% of all adults live their lives asleep.

A lack of total consciousness or awareness of the NOW.

Mmm, so yes this could really be true. How many of us REALLY live totally in the NOW.

For example:

  • Have you ever gone in to another room only to arrive there forgetting what you went for?

    Is this because you are “getting old”? No!

  • Have you ever forgotten where you parked your car when you went to the supermarket or mall?

    Is this because you are losing your memory? No!

  • Can you visualize the face of the last person who scanned all your groceries at the checkout?

    Did you notice their name? Did you even look?

Ok – write down the answers to these questions in your daily journal.

Why the negative answers? Little awareness of the NOW.

Let’s look at number one:
Where was your mind (really) when you went into the other room for something? Did you REALLY consciously memorize what you were going for, or was your mind running in 1,000 directions?

Number two:
Did you REALLY forget where you left the car, or were you so distracted by 1,000 things running through your mind (or by your cell phone/texting) that you did not even bother to TAKE NOTE of where you left the car.

Your mind will not recall information you never gave it!

Number three:
When you were at the checkout, were you REALLY there? Or was your mind taking you to a dozen other places? Thus you were living in the past, future, what ifs, or if onlys?

Your body was in the NOW, but your mind and even emotions were everywhere right?

Today’s challenge:
Learn to live in the NOW! Life will become so much more enjoyable. You also might just find that those days that fly by so fast will slow down a little as you learn to enjoy every present moment.

Are you ready for this challenge? I am!

Let’s wake up and live in the NOW. Life will take on a whole new dimension AND new opportunities will “magically” begin to show up!

Jill(Psst: here’s a secret – they were there all the time, you just had not noticed them because you were not living in the NOW).

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What action can you take on this article that will make a difference in your life? Please share your thoughts here
26 Jul 2010 Are You Positioned To Win?

Are you always positioned to win? Or does life still sometimes catch you off guard?

An Impressive Storm

This evening a storm hit central Texas. The rain came down in a gale force strength that I don’t remember seeing, at least in a very long time. It was very impressive.

I ran for my camera to see what I could capture on photograph, but anything I could take through the window did not even begin to depict the impressive force of rain I was witnessing.

So I decided to open the front door to see if I could take a quick photo. Just as soon as I cracked the door a huge gust of wind came billowing in trying to blow me over.

It was a good thing I had one leg braced behind the other, and so I was in a good position physically to take the weight of the wind and close the door.

Immediately a thought came to me:

Are you always positioned to win? Are you always ready to overcome?

As it turned out, this was a very small incident. It only lasted a few minutes. I was able to close the door without any problems especially since I was braced ready to take a challenge. The rain only lasted about 15 minutes in such force before it calmed down to a steady shower.

But what a big lesson! If I did not have one foot behind the other (positioned to take the force of the wind), when I opened the front door I may have been pushed over.

It was a forceful lesson that left me thinking (and writing :)

The heart of the lesson is:

Are you training every day to always be prepared?

It takes preparation to be THE champion in your life.
You don’t have to be better than anyone else to be a champion. You just have to be better than your adversary and overcome his attempts to steer you off the path you are following towards your dream.

It takes preparation to be ready for whatever may come to challenge you in life. You never know what challenges may come your way, BUT you CAN be sure that if you are prepared in your heart and mind you have a great change of winning.

Your daily preparation predicts your victory (or defeat – you choose).

You always need to be alert.
I had the camera in my hand ready to shoot BUT was still position and prepared for a strong wind. Even though my main intent was to take a photo of the torrential rain, I was still alert to the strength of the elements.

So did I get the photo? No, BUT I did get a great lesson.

JillAre you always position to win over the enemy or could you easily be blown down?

Photo Credit


What action can you take on this article that will make a difference in your life? Please share your thoughts here