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Saturday, January 10, 2009
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Saturday, December 20, 2008
Bold Statements of Yore
- David Livingstone, 1859
2. You know long ago they used to say, “…the missionaries came to Africa and they had the Bible and we had the land. And they said, ‘Let us pray.’ And when we opened our eyes, we had the Bible and they had the land.”
Desmond Tutu, 1984 Nobel Peace Prize Winner (South Africa)
3. You inhabitants of the palace you had better reduce your swaggering…
You cannot show off on an empty stomach,
The children went to get relief but there was none,
The elders were thinking that it was due to the children’s lack of strength,
But the whole issue is not concerned with strength.
Proverb from famine in Nigeria 1942
4. We need schools in Africa, but schools in which we show the native the way to the dignity of man and the glory of the (Portuguese) nation which protects him. We want to teach the natives to write, to read and to count, but not to make them learned men.
Cardinal Cerejeira of Lisbon, in his Christmas message of 1960
5. Improving our country for us, are you? Railways, roads, mines, indeed! For whose benefit are they? You can take them away so far as I am concerned. What are you leaving us with? A sucked orange!
Zambian chief, late 1930s
6. The European merchant is my shepherd,
And I am in want;
He makes me to lie down in cocoa farms;
He leadeth me beside the waters of great need.
Ghanaian soldier, 1940s
7. I have heard…that people may become dependent on us for food. I know that was not supposed to be good news. To me, that was good news, because before people can do anything they have got to eat. And if you are looking for a way to get people to lean on you, in terms of their co-operation with you, it seems to me that food dependence would be terrific.
Sen. Hurbert Humphrey, on the U.S. food for peace program, 1957
8. Food is a weapon but the way to use that is to tie countries to us. That way they’ll be far more reluctant to upset us.
John Brock, during confirmation hearings as Secretary of Agriculture, 1980
9. Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets breakthrough.
Jonathan Swift
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Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Best House Plans
This post DOES NOT require a disclosure link or statement.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
8 Ways To Happiness - Part 5
Gratitude
Stop for a moment and think of someone in your life that you’re grateful for. Have someone in mind? Now really focus on that person. What do you appreciate about them? What specifically do you really like about them? Think of nothing else but your gratitude for having them in your life and what you appreciate about them. Close your eyes and focus on what you love about them.Now, how did you feel when you did that? Felt pretty good, didn’t it? When we focus on our appreciation and gratitude for the things and people in our lives, we encourage our own awareness and happiness.
“Earth is crammed with heaven.”
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Gratitude is one of those characteristics that is almost always present when feeling happy. What you focus on becomes more impactful in your life. Make gratitude a larger aspect of your thoughts. You can end the pain by simply changing your focus.
Try an experiment. Take 10 minutes of your time and make a list of all the things you're truly thankful for in your life. The things you appreciate and are really grateful for. Stay away from the “I should be grateful for this” type of items and stick with only those things that in your heart you feel thankful for. Then notice how you feel afterwards. You'll be surprised.
If you're not in the habit of experiencing or expressing appreciation, you may have to set notes around your home to help remind you. If you keep a journal you may want to list one thing you feel grateful for every day. When I was first doing this I found myself actively looking for things to appreciate. After a while, it became second nature to me.
Monday, December 08, 2008
TFS
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Sunday, November 30, 2008
8 Ways To Happiness - Part 4
Understanding & Changing Your Beliefs
This is perhaps one of the most important pages on the Self Creation site. If you act on the information on this page, I guarantee your life will never be the same. A bold statement, but true.
Beliefs are any ideas you think are true about yourself, others, and life. Clarity about what you believe, who you are, what you want, and why you want it can be like a beacon on a clear night, guiding you to the fulfillment of your desires. Unfortunately, most of us aren't aware of our beliefs, many of which we acquired as children. You can live your whole life unaware of how you're beliefs are effecting your feelings, thoughts and actions.
Some beliefs are counter-productive to what you say you want. Wouldn't it be nice to identify those beliefs? Examine them for validity? There are so many self-defeating beliefs but here are just a few I've identified in myself and others. Do you believe any of the following?
Self Defeating Beliefs
* If I'm happy now, I won't be motivated to change anything.
* I can't change. This is just the way I am.
* My feelings are natural reactions, not something I can control.
* If I control my feelings, I'll be a robot.
* I have to have [love, sex, or money] in order to be happy.
* If I don't feel guilty, I’ll continue to do "bad" things.
* You have to do some things you don't want to do in this life.
* No pain, no gain.
* If I was happy all the time, I’d be a blithering idiot.
* People who are optimistic aren't realistic.
* You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
* If happiness was my priority, I'd be inconsiderate of others.
* It's a dog-eat-dog world out there.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
8 Ways To Happiness - Part 3
Accept Yourself As You Are Right Now
Self acceptance is being loving and happy with who you are NOW. Some call it self-esteem, others self-love, but whatever you call it, you'll know when your accepting yourself cause it feels real good! Its an agreement with yourself to appreciate, validate, accept and support who you are at this very moment, even those parts you’d like to eventually change. This is key...even those parts you'd eventually like to change. Yes, you can accept (be okay with) those parts of yourself you want to change.
Motivation Behind Lack of Acceptance
If acceptance feels so good, then why don’t we accept ourselves? Motivation. Motivation to get us to do, not do, be, and not be. Many people believe that if they accepted themselves as they are, they wouldn’t change or that they wouldn’t work on becoming more of who they want to be.
We hate ourselves for being fat to get ourselves to diet. We berate ourselves for mistakes to make ourselves more attentive. We feel guilty to make ourselves do what we think we should. We judge ourselves unfavorably with the hope it will motivate us to change. We hope if we feel bad enough about ourselves, that maybe that will motivate us to change.
Does this work? Hardly. All it does is...well, cause us to feel bad and feeling bad just saps your energy you might have used to make changes. It works exactly counter to what you wanted to do.
So if it doesn’t work, why do we keep doing it? Because we HOPE it will work. And if you don’t know any other way to change, what options do you have? We’ve been trained to believe that in order to change, we need to first feel bad about it. That if we’re accepting and loving of that particular quality, that we won’t do anything to change the situation. Which is not true! You don’t have to be unhappy with yourself to know and actively change those things you’d like to change about yourself. Acceptance is actually the very first step in the process of change.
What if you were to drop your value judgments and simply saw “what is” then identified what you wanted and why. It could totally transform your experience. What are the ramifications of doing so? Perhaps you would find a well of love for yourself and others that you never knew existed. Perhaps you'd notice the less you judge yourself, the less you judge others. And maybe, just maybe, the experience of acceptance would give you the solid foundation to move forward in creating yourself and your life the you've always dreamed.
Monday, November 24, 2008
8 Ways To Happiness - Part 2
Make Happiness A Deliberate Intention
How often do you base whether you’ll be happy or not, on the circumstances and conditions in your life? “When this happens, I’ll be happy. When I get this house, car, relationship, job, this problem is solved, have self esteem, get out of this marriage (the list is endless) ... then I’ll be happy.”
What if your happiness was...
More important than changing?
More important than getting what you want?
More important than making more money?
More important than being healthy?
More important than having friends?
More important than being respected?
More important than having the right career?
More important than being in a great relationship?
What if you could be happy while pursuing the things you want? Whose to say you can't? Is there any reason you can't experience joy while creating the life you want?
What we focus on becomes larger in our lives. If you focus on feeling happy, you will feel happier. Consider this. If you don’t have to use unhappiness to motivate yourself to accomplish something, you could pursue your desires while being happy. You could feel good, right here, right now. It’s all about setting the intention to feel good at the top of your list. To understand this more fully, I recommend you read Emotional Options by Mandy Evans.
One of the surprising and amazing results of deliberately making happiness important in your life, is how much more effective you will be at creating what you want!
Friday, November 21, 2008
8 Ways To Happiness - Part 1
If you're going to work towards happiness, you will need to know who controls your happiness. It’s a fairly common belief that a person can make another person feel bad. “She made me angry.” “He upset her.” “He really pissed the boss off this time.”
I am going to challenge this idea and propose that...
You can not, in any way, ever, MAKE someone feel anything.
When I have talked to people about this idea, they inevitably bring up the time when someone had upset them or made them angry. They say to me, “they caused my anger for if they had not been there, and said what they did, I would not have been angry.”
I can understand cause and effect in the physical world. I push the pencil and it rolls. I drop a glass and it shatters. But cause and effect don’t translate very well into the emotional world.
When someone says something to you, are the words going directly into your brain and switching on your "I'm upset" lever? When someone gives you the evil eye, are they shooting laser beams into your brain pushing your afraid button? When someone makes an unfavorable comment about your hair and you become offended, are they sending invisible "offend waves" causing your response? No, of course not. How can words, sent out as sound waves and picked up by your ears then translate into an emotional response? Is there nothing between those sound waves and your response?
I think people have difficulty understand this concept of responsibility for their emotions because they make no distinction between influence and control.
Influence & Control
There is a difference between the terms influence and control. Influence has the potential to impact. It's indirect. Control has a direct effect on a result.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Self Acceptance - Part 2
Acceptance exists at the core of your being. It is your default status. In order to reach this base level of acceptance, you need only remove the items laying on top. To do this, you must first identify all the things you do not accept about yourself. Then, one by one, eliminate them by examining and questioning your beliefs around that issue.
* Know yourself and your beliefs
* Take a good hard look at your honesty level
* Know you are doing the best you can
* Relax your value judgments
* Examine guilt
* Understand your motivations
* Ask yourself questions about what you don't accept
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Self Acceptance - Part 1
The Motivation Behind Your Lack of Acceptance
If acceptance feels so good and is so good for us, then why don’t we accept ourselves? The answer is motivation. We use our lack of acceptance (punishment - cause it feels bad) as motivation to get us to do, not do, be, and not be what we think we should. Many people believe that if they accepted themselves as they are, they wouldn’t change or that they wouldn’t work on becoming more of who they want to be.
Typically, we judge ourselves unfavorably with the hope it will motivate us to change. We hope if we feel bad enough about ourselves, that maybe that will motivate us to change. Does this work? Sometimes, but only short term. Most times all it does is cause us to feel bad which saps the energy you might have used to make changes. It can be a vicious cycle. It works exactly counter to what you wanted to do.
So if it doesn’t work, why do we keep doing it? Because we hope it will work. And if you don’t know any other way to change, what options do you have? We’ve been trained to believe that in order to change, we need to first feel bad about it. That if we’re accepting and loving of that particular quality, that we won’t do anything to change the situation, which is not true! You don’t have to be unhappy with yourself to know and actively change those things you’d like to change about yourself. Acceptance is actually the very first step in the process of change. For more about this, see “an interview about acceptance”
Think of acceptance of yourself like being okay with where you live now. You may want a bigger house one day. You may dream about that new home. But there ARE advantages to living in a smaller home if you only took the time to think about it. It is possible to be happy with the home you're in now, while still dreaming and working to make your new home a reality.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Self Awareness
It All Begins With Awareness
Awareness is the first step in the creation process. As you grow in self awareness, you will better understand why you feel what you feel and why you behave as you behave. That understanding then gives you the opportunity and freedom to change those things you’d like to change about yourself and create the life you want. Without fully knowing who you are, self acceptance and change become impossible.Having clarity about who you are and what you want (and why you want it), empowers you to consciously and actively make those wants a reality. Otherwise, you’ll continue to get “caught up” in your own internal dramas and unknown beliefs, allowing unknown thought processes to determine your feelings and actions.
If you think about it, not understanding why you do what you do, and feel what you feel is like going through your life with a stranger's mind. How do you make wise decisions and choices if you don't understand why you want what you want? It's a difficult and chaotic way to live never knowing what this stranger is going to do next.
Who's the expert?
When we want good, solid information, we turn to the experts. So, who are you going to turn to for information about yourself? Who's the expert?
You.
Does a friend, a therapist, a minister, your hero, your spouse, your parents know more about you than you? They can't. You live in your skin and mind 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. Day in and day out. No one’s closer to you than you! The answers are in there, perhaps all you’ve needed to solve your riddles is a useful question.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Problems in Love Relationships - Part 5
If you loved me you would.....
Unspoken and unacknowledged expectations take a large toll in relationships. In having expectations, you're expecting your partner to be a certain way in order to believe they love and care about you. If you don't get what you expect, you conclude all kinds of negative things about the relationship that may not be true.Useful Questions:
* Do your expectations have to be fulfilled for you to be happy? If so, why?
* Do you expect your partner to conform to your wants? What does it mean when they don't?
* Do you have preset rules in your love relationships? If so, what are they and why?
* Do you find yourself often saying “he should” or “she should”?
* Do you have any “If you loved me you would...[fill in the blank]'s”? If so, what are they?
* Can you think of a time you didn't do what someone wanted you to do? Did you love them, even though you didn't do what they wanted? Could it be the same with your partner?
* Do you use another’s words and actions as “evidence or proof” that they love you?. If your partner does that thing or activity you want, then do they love you? If they don't, is that a sign they don't love you or care? If yes, why?
* Understand everyone has different wants, desires, and beliefs about what it means to be loving.
* Be Honest
* Examine what expectations you DO have, then openly discuss them with your partner. Find out what theirs are.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Problems in Love Relationships - Part 4
It would be easier to start over with someone else
Some time has passed in the relationship and you've both built up lies. Some big ones but mostly small ones. They're not blatant lies, but mostly unspoken thoughts and feelings. The intentions behind the lies were to protect yourself and your partner from pain. But now, your problems seem overwhelming and you can't talk openly and honestly about them because you've already established a certain pattern of communication. It seems it would be considerably easier to just start fresh with a new partner. One where you could be yourself without fear.Useful Questions:
* Is honesty in your love relationship ever a “wrong” move?
Why do you believe that? (Read more about how honesty effects relationships)
* Get clear on what you've lied about to your partner. What would happen if you shared what you learned? What is the worst that would happen? Are you capable of handling that? Why or why not?.
* Figure out what you're afraid would happen if you were honest with them about those issues.
* Talk to your partner about your concerns of being TOTALLY honest. Keep the focus on YOUR feelings and not their behavior.
* Muster up the courage to tell them what you've lied about. Repeat to yourself, "No matter what happens, I will be okay."
Monday, November 03, 2008
Problems in Love Relationships - Part 3
We can't talk about that
Every time you approach certain subjects, it turns into an argument. In the back of your mind, you decide to avoid that topic in the future because you don't want to fight. You don't want the conflict. You believe fighting means the relationship is on rocky ground or is threatening to the relationship. You want to stay together, but believe if you fight, you might separate. So you become afraid to talk about one or two subjects. Over time, that list of "don't touch that one" becomes more and more numerous. And as the list of avoided topics grows, it starts to feel like you can't talk with each other anymore. You feel distant and detached. You start wondering how much longer you can live like this. The silence grows.Useful Questions:
* Examine your beliefs about love and arguing. Are you afraid of being hurt in relationships? Does disagreeing with someone always mean hurt feelings? If so, why? How could you do it differently?
* Do you limit yourself in some way when with your lover? Why? What might happen if you let them see and hear all of you?
* Is honesty in your love relationship ever a “wrong” move?
Why do you believe that? (Read more about how honesty effects relationships)
* Talk to your partner about your concerns while keeping the focus on your feelings and not their behavior. (Helpful hint: Be watchful of terms like “you always, you never, you make me feel.” Try this instead: “When you [the behavior], I find myself felling [your feelings]...”)
* Learn to be more accepting of your partner by becoming more accepting of yourself.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Problems in Love Relationships - Part 2
We don't have anything in common anymore
You love each other and that's why you got together in the first place, but you don't really seem to have much in common anymore. You’re into philosophy and art. They're into sports. You like books and going for walks, and she always wants to go sailing. But you tell yourself that marriage is a sacrifice. A give and take. You’ve been told you should put aside your own interests to make the relationship work. You have to compromise, right? But when you give up what you love for the sake of the relationship, you end up resenting the person and conclude you don't have anything in common.If you had these differences when you fell in love, chances are it's not about having nothing in common, but not having the connection and intimacy you once had.
Useful Questions:
* Has the amount of one-on-one time changed since you first met?
* Do you still share everything with your partner like you use to?
* What would happen if you did what you wanted, and they did what they wanted?
* How much time do you have to spend with your lover to feel you have a successful relationship? How did you arrive at that amount? What would it mean if you had separate interests?
* Do you see yourself and your partner as two separate people who choose to be together or do you feel some type of obligation?
* Do you believe “Love means to sacrifice.”? If so, why?
Monday, October 27, 2008
Problems in Love Relationships - Part 1
You don't love me like I love you
Problems can creep in when we start to have thoughts of “do I love him more than he loves me?” We start examining all the things we do for our lover. All the ways we express our love and how much time and energy we’re putting into the relationship. Then we try to figure out if our lover is giving an equal amount back. If we perceive a discrepancy in that balance sheet, we start to back away from the relationship. We don't want to love more than they love. We become fearful that if we love them more than they love us, we might be played for a fool.Useful Questions:
* Focus on how you feel when YOU are loving. Does loving someone feel good regardless if it’s returned? Is your loving someone conditional on them loving you back? If so, why?
* Do you feel loved when your partner isn’t around? If not, why not? Do you accept yourself, appreciate your qualities?
* Are you doing things for your lover that you really don't want to do, but feel you need to, to keep their love? Are you doing things for them, expecting something in return? What are you expecting? And have you told them what that is?
* Have you talked to your partner about what things cause you to feel loved? (Don’t get caught up in “if they loved me, they’d know”, cause they don’t.)
Friday, October 24, 2008
How to Overcome Anxiety & Fear in Relationships? - Part 1
Fear of intimacy is the exact opposite of the close relationship you had with your best friend when you were a kid. You may be lucky enough to have a best friend now, but the depth and scope of those childhood friendships may seem unbeatable because you shared all your secrets. Fear of intimacy -- hiding behind emotional walls and barriers -- wasn't usually an issue. Overcoming fear of intimacy and anxiety wasn't even on the radar screen.
Fear of intimacy is definitely a grown up problem.
Fear of intimacy involves the reluctance to open up and reveal your true self, perhaps because you've been hurt in the past. Or, if you grew up in an emotionally and socially closed environment and never learned how to be vulnerable to either friends or lovers, you may have a hard time opening up now. This is fear of intimacy. We've all been betrayed and hurt by loved ones in big and small ways – a thousand tiny betrayals. Regardless of the pain was accidentally or deliberately caused, we’re naturally reluctant to open ourselves up again. Not wanting to get hurt can lead to an extreme fear of intimacy.
Personality characteristics such as introversion and extroversion can also contribute to fear of intimacy issues, and so can depression and anxiety.
Fear of intimacy is different than fear of commitment. You can be married and not know your partner emotionally, intellectually, or spiritually. In fact, loneliness in marriage is more difficult than being lonely as a single person or widow. Marital loneliness springs from fear of intimacy in one or both partners.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
7 tips for a strong healthy love life
Your partnership isn't just a vehicle that brings happiness and contentment to your life (or bitterness and pain). It's a living, dynamic creature that changes, grows, and needs attention -- and you must nurture it. In all three stages of love, your love reveals who you really are, in all your glory and weakness.
All stages of love can help you accept your strengths and weaknesses. All stages of relationships also reveal your partner's strengths and weaknesses.
7 tips for a strong healthy love life during all stages of love:
- Focus on the things you can control: your attitude, your behavior, your words, and your energy. If you want something to change in any stage of relationship, make it your own traits or actions – not your partner's.
- Learn healthy ways to express your disappointment, anger, or frustration. Be honest and authentic, and kind and loving in all stages of relationships.
- Remember the first stage of love! Recall your feelings of lust, attraction, and desire for your partner. Think about the traits that you were attracted to, and let those old feelings come to life again.
- Appreciate your partner's good qualities; be grateful for the life you share. Gratitude can enhance all stages of relationships.
- Focus on emotional intimacy in all three stages of love. Be vulnerable to have a healthy love life.
- Own your feelings. Your partner can't "make" you feel stupid or worthless. If you feel unfulfilled or sad about your life, look at your own dreams and goals. Are you pursuing the life you were meant to live? Are you following your heart? Develop your personality, mind, and spirit. Figure out what will make you happy in this stage of love, and start creating the life you were meant to live.
- Consider counseling in any stage of love. If you've lost that loving feeling, it could be an individual thing that you need to deal with or a couples' issue that you should tackle together. An objective point of view, from a therapist, pastor, or friend you trust, is incredibly helpful in all stages of relationships.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Three Stages of Love
Falling in love involves three stages of love: the initial feelings of lust or romantic love, physical attraction, and finally a deeper emotional attachment. Reaching the final stage of love isn't just about luck or unconditional acceptance. You can reach the final stage of love with these seven tips for a healthy love life. To be enjoyed, the three stages of love or stages of relationships need to be understood.
What Are the Three Stages of Love?
The three stages of love are the same for everyone: lust or romantic love, physical attraction, and emotional attachment. The stages of love or stages of relationships aren't necessarily separated by markers like anniversaries or events (such as getting married). Rather, the three stages of love blend together in one long stroke of love.
Not everyone reaches or stays in the final stage of love, which is when separation or divorce becomes an option.
Three Stages of Love
Lust or romantic love is the first stage of love. It's driven by testosterone and estrogen. Mating is the evolutionary purpose of this stage of love; it creates strong physical attraction and sets the stage for emotional attachment. In this stage of relationship, endorphins soak your brain and you're immersed in intense pleasurable sensations. Your lover is perfect, ideal, made for you. In this stage of love you feel exhilarated and even "high" (similar to the feeling you get after you eat really good chocolate or have a great workout). You feel infactuated in this stage of relationship.
Physical attraction and power struggles make up the second stage of love (the lovesick phase). You may lose your appetite, need less sleep, and daydream about your lover on the bus, during meetings, in the shower. In this stage of love, dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin are racing through your body and brain. You're also trying to shape your lover into your ideal partner – which is where the power struggles come in. In this stage of relationship, you're becoming more realistic, and you two may fight about things like whether or not to buy organic food or listen to country music. The infatuation is wearing off, a strong emotional attachment begins to set in, and feelings of infactuation fade.
Emotional attachment or unconditional acceptance is the third stage of love. It involves commitment, partnership, and even children (a fear of intimacy prevents many from reaching this stage of love). In this stage of relationship, you're aware of both positive and negative traits in your partner, and you've decided you want to build a life together. Confrontation is most likely to occur in this stage of love (though if you're authentic and honest, it'll also happen in the second stage of love). You and your partner will either work towards a healthy, loving relationship or decide to call it quits.