Everything Happens for a Reason

Sometimes life can be frustrating because people and events enter our lives that seem to conflict with our life plan and our best interests. However, we always need to remind ourselves that everything that happens in our life, happens for a  reason. Nothing happens by chance or as a result of “luck”.  Whether it be love, illness, or sheer stupidity, everything happens to test the limits of  our soul and to enable one to reach their true potential.

Without these tests, life would be a smooth flat road to nowhere, dull and pointless with no opportunity to grow. The best thing about living in America, we have the opportunity make our own decisions, thereby exercising our free will that was endowed upon us by our creator. The soul wants challenges, so it can evolve and attain a higher state of perfection. The human mind doesn’t want to be controlled by government or any other entity.

Often times people come into our lives and we know right away they are meant to be there. They often come at times or in situations when they are least expected, at times it may take a while to realize why they are here,however they ain’t going away until the issue is dealt with. The learning experiences aren’t always what we consider as negative, often times it is a very rewarding time. We need to remember that often times the most trying and negative times are the instances when we learn the most and reap the greatest rewards.

There have been several times in my life when what I thought was a negative event actually turned into something positive.

I enlisted in the Air Force Reserve during the height of the Vietnam conflict. I was given the classification of a Loadmaster, which meant I would be on flying status and assigned to a C-119. I was thrilled, it meant that on training week-ends, I would be flying to such places as New Orleans and New York. Looked like a pretty good gig to me!

However, while in basic training at Lackland Air Force Base my orders were changed, I was going to supply school. I wasn’t a happy camper, handing out t-shirts to flight crews wasn’t my idea of a good time. They were having all the fun.

After pouting for nearly four years, my term of enlistment was nearly over, plans were made to marry and settle down, along comes the Tet offensive in 1968 and we were called to active duty. I hadn’t joined the Air Force to get out of going To Vietnam, I would have been glad to serve, but if there ever was a good time to go on active duty, this wasn’t it.

Moving ahead our wedding and taking a leave of absence from my work, I was prepared to go to ‘Nam. To make a long story short, three days before my departure, the Air Force decided to only take the airmen on flying status, the rest of us would remain home. It all became clear to me, if my orders hadn’t been changed to a supply squadron,(someone was looking out for me, I didn’t need to experience warfare at this time.) I would have gone to Vietnam. I immediately quit whining.

Years later , after much soul searching and research, I realized I had been a warrior  in many lifetimes, and although we are always obligated to fight for what is right and just, warfare just wasn’t in my deck of cards this time around. Through this I  learned to not judge an event as being good or bad, that call can’t be made until the final result is determined.

, Everything really does happen for a reason,there  are no good or bad experiences, only learning experiences.

Appreciate every moment and every event in your life, be ready to glean unexpected rewards from every encounter and experience you have, you never know how it will turn out.

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The author has been a writer/photographer for over thirty years. Specializing in nature and landscape photography, as well as studying native cultures.

His travels have taken him to most of the United States, as well as Australia, Belize, Egypt and the Canary Islands.

He has studied the Mayan culture of Central America as well as the aborigines of Australia. Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in various parts of the world.

He has published several books about his adventures.

For more information, please consult his website,www.journeysthrulife.com.

Your comments welcome

 

Affirmations

Do affirmations work?

You often hear it said by the non-believer that affirmations don’t work. When you understand what an affirmation really is and when you look back on your life, you can only agree with the notion that correct thinking and attitude do indeed make a difference.

Often it is thought affirmations are a conscious effort to plant in the subconscious mind as well as the universe a desire or thought about how we would like for our future to play out. While this may be true, there is much more to it than that.

Charting one’s life is more about a continuous thought process than spending fifteen minutes every morning in meditation. Saying affirmations is only part of the process, if we spend fifteen minutes every morning meditating and the rest of the day complaining or having negative thoughts then the time spent meditating is pretty much for naught. It’s like taking batting practice for the big game , but not believing you can get a hit. Your negative thoughts have just wiped out any chance of success all of your practice could have produced.

I view affirmations and thoughts as being prayers, we are continuously thinking every day, all day. Our thoughts and feelings are prayers or affirmations. The things we thing about is the fodder for fueling our future.When you look back , you have to realize that the way you thought and acted is what has determined where you are today .

Regardless of our beginnings, whether they be humble, or if you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, your thoughts have determined where you are at this moment in time.

I know souls experience hardships in life that create environments that seriously hinder their advancement, socially and economically. However many people have over come extreme hardships while others who have had a so-called easier time of it accomplish very little. In itself that proves what a positive attitude and correct thinking can accomplish.

A morning affirmation, or time spent meditating sets the tone for the day, it can wipe out any negativity and create an environment where one is placed in the right frame of mind to continue thinking positive thoughts ,while developing a good attitude and leading one in the direction to make a positive change in his or her life.

It doesn’t matter what life gives you, you can turn it around. Words and thoughts have power, speak and think carefully and wisely , change your thinking and your life will turn around, maybe not overnight,but it will turn around.  Stay consistent and make a choice on a daily basis to think the thoughts that make you feel good, in time positive changes will be seen.

Now you can follow me on Kindle.

The author has been a writer/photographer for over thirty years. Specializing in nature and landscape photography, as well as studying native cultures.

His travels have taken him to most of the United States, as well as Australia, Belize, Egypt and the Canary Islands.

He has studied the Mayan culture of Central America as well as the aborigines of Australia. Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in various parts of the world.

He has published several books about his adventures.

For more information, please consult his website,www.journeysthrulife.com.

Your comments welcome

How can I serve

It’s been often said that you cannot give away what you do not have.

Most people think our resources are limited, this is not true. We live in a limitless universe, everything we want , need and desire, we already have. We live in a universe where we have unlimited resources , whether it be oil, food, health or what ever else ,we will never run out of anything. Just as Jesus turned the water into wine we can all to tap into that unlimited supply. One of the most spiritual insights or mystical secrets of life is that you already have what you need to give away.

The right thoughts and actions will always release and provide one with the things needed to make one happy, or the things we think will make us happy. We as spiritual beings , always sooner or later receive what we wish for or think about.  Words and thoughts have meaning and they do have an affect on the events that occur in our lives. 

There is an old saying, “Be careful of what you wish for, you may receive it.”

There is truth in this phrase. The Law of attraction works!

When we say ’give me’ we are imparting this message. We are saying we think we need to get something to complete ourselves or prove our worth.

Most of society teaches us to live a life of want and desire. If we struggle enough, we will become worthy and our wishes will be granted. This will lead to our lives being fulfilled and we will be held in high esteem by others.

  As with most beliefs in life, that is an illusion. We are worthy by nature of our connection with the higher consciousness. But we will not know it until we believe it on an inner level. Only by asking our higher self , or Christ Consciousness,will it become evident.

Ask the question,  “how can I serve?” The intention to serve will point you towards what you need to give. If the intention is real it also generates the will. The most successful people in life are not go getters, but go servers!

Even the most capitalist person on the planet, whether they realize it or not, is giving something for anyone who wants to receive it. They are giving an opportunity for one to create a life for themselves, by presenting that some one with a career opportunity, or investment opportunity that wouldn’t have existed if it hadn’t been for the capitalist or entrepreneur’s ability to create something of worth.

Each and every one of us need to realize that whatever we desire is already here and available to us, all that is needed is the ability to tap into the source and  act upon it.

The life you have now is a result of the way you previously thought. Change your thoughts and change your life.

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To Change the World, You must change Yourself

Change the World, Change Yourself

There is much discussion today about our changing world, the world governments seem to want to change our world to where they would have complete control over our lives.

This doesn’t have to be the case, each and every one of us is in control of our destiny . Our actions, thoughts, words and deeds determine how our lives will be lived out. True there are always obstacles and challenges that arise for us to over come, however if one sticks to his or her game plan , the final outcome will be what we want or how we perceived it to be.

We each live our own reality, no two people experience a particular event in exactly the same way. This is evident in our daily lives as we communicate with the people around us and see the different reactions individuals have to the same event.

Having said that, it should be easy to see how the way we think and perceive situations determines not only the outcome of that event, but the outcome of our lives. If you want to change your world, you must change your life and how you perceive it.

The world is just a mirror of our life, the good you find in others is in you, others faults are also yours, the beauty, the possibilities,are also in you. The ancient sages all teach that in order to recognize something, you must know it. You cannot know  something if it isn’t part of you.

Realize that if someone’s actions offend you, it is because you sense that trait in yourself and you are annoyed because it is bouncing back at you and making you very uncomfortable. The same is true if you are pleased by one’s actions, take it as a compliment to yourself for possessing an admirable trait.

It is very important to “let go”.

To let go doesn’t mean that you don’t care, or that you are cutting yourself off from the situation. It just means that you turn control over to a higher power and you quit trying to arrange outcomes for others and yourself.

By doing this , your time is freed up to choosing your destiny. The universe will give you many solutions, it is your job to choose which you want. In no way do you have to select the first opportunity availed to you. Keep in mind what you really want, and wait until the right choice comes along,(go about your life, but lie like an alligator in the swamp) and when the right morsel drives by, grab it. You will know in your heart when the time is right, when the time comes, jump in and enjoy life.

Only when one has determined what is desired in their life, and thrown it out to the universe and let it go,will the universe, or God  determine what is in not only your best interest, but the best interest of everyone in your world. You will be very surprised, the outcome will be better than anything you could have imagined in your wildest dreams.

It may not happen immediately, and you may have to walk through some muddy swamps in the meantime, but the final outcome will make it all worthwhile.

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Positive Thinking

Much is being said today about hope and change . Some government leaders think they are in charge of our lives and they are the ones that can effectively “change” our lives. In some ways they are correct in thinking they can change our lives, however, most of the time, government policies only change our lives for the worse.

We as humans are the only species on the planet whose thinking is so powerful that we can change a situation by our thinking about it. How we perceive the situation , and what meaning we draw from it is more important than the event itself and will effectively create an outcome that matches our expectations .

As we think we become, these words couldn’t be more true. Many people don’t realize it but, words and thoughts have meaning and consequences, it really does matter what we think and say. The older I become, the more obvious it is to me that we do create our own reality. Every event we encounter in our life we choose to experience, whether it be consciously or unconsciously. On some level of consciousness, we volunteer for every life situation we encounter.

Once this is realized, you can effectively change your reality, this is not to say that a so called negative experience will never be encountered, instead we learn to take the challenges in stride and work to make lemonade out of lemons. Every so called negative experience can have a happy ending. 

By continuously thinking positive thoughts and focusing on the life you want, it will eventually come to pass. Results aren’t always immediately forthcoming or in the order we might like. The universe has no concept of time , and sometimes certain events need to transpire before the point we want to reach can be realized. 

Our thoughts and words are prayers, in this perspective, we are praying constantly. The universe, or God will respond to whatever we wish or think we want, so be careful, make sure it is something you desire before thinking it into reality. From my own experience , if it is something that isn’t in the grand scheme of things or not for the highest good of all concerned , it probably won’t happen, (some times God has something better in store for us than we can imagine.) Sometimes when we are not achieving something we want, it is time to let go and let be. The universe will provide what we really want.

To be on the safe side when meditating, always insert the phrase,”for the highest good for all concerned”, at the end of your prayers or meditations.

Although we can’t control every event that happens in our life , we can control our thinking of the event and thus begin to control our life.
 

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One Day at a Time

One Day at a Time, Walk Your Own Path

When I was twenty-one , I had my life all planned out, or so I thought, as I reach into the mid sixties, I realize I haven’t done anything  I planned when I was younger. Since I remained in the same geographical area as my family, I assumed I would lead a life  similar  to the journey my ancestors had taken. I have since learned to never assume anything.

I think we all learn to expect the unexpected as we travel life’s journey , life doesn’t always turn out the way we envision it. Many times we think our life will be like our parents and grandparents. Good Luck on that one, we all live in a different time and era and have different life journey’s than they could have ever imagined.

That doesn’t mean we should not plan and lead a life with no direction, quite to the contrary, choosing that rocky path will only lead to disaster. If you don’t start down the road , nowhere is where you will wind up.

As you travel down life’s road you will come to many forks in the road, you have to take them. They will lead in more different and varied directions than you could imagine, along the way you will fulfill many dreams you never even knew you had. Often times we try to over analyze our situation before acting on it, spontaneity can sometimes work to our benefit.

When your life changes direction, there is a reason for it, even though the path may be treacherous and the end result undetermined, it is essential to one’s growth to follow the path. Go willfully, from past experience, in the end it can’t be and shouldn’t be avoided, take the detour and be thankful for the new adventure. Whatever was, is in the past, the future is yet to be realized, live in the moment.

The most difficult part is to walk your path one step at a time, it seems the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Don’t be distracted, stay on the chosen path, don’t let your pants get snagged jumping over the barbed wire fence trying to get to greener pastures. Keep your head up, and let the God part of you determine the outcome. Believe in yourself and begin the journey, it will be incredible, magnificent,and when the path leads to a gate , the grass will be greener, far beyond your wildest dreams.

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Trust Yourself

TRUST YOURSELF AS A SOURCE OF HAPPINESS

Trust Yourself

There is an old country song”Looking for Love in all the wrong places”. This pretty much exemplifies how people look for happiness. The problem is, most people also look for happiness in all the wrong places.

While it can’t be denied , some people in our lives will make us happier than others,however  that being said, no one can make us happy. We have to be content with ourselves and our life before anyone can satisfy  our dreams.

You have created everything in your life, you are far more powerful than you realize.The events in your life are a direct result of your thinking in the past. Once you realize this and take responsibility for it , you can choose to take your life in any direction you want.

The first step is to  to look deep inside yourself to determine what true happiness is for you. We have the power to choose, people, events, situations outside yourself, these choices will all effect your happiness, but only you can make the decisions to make  yourself happy.

You may try to find all kinds of things outside yourself that will reassure you that you are happy – or keep unhappiness at bay. But even with the most meaningful of your successes , If there is no spiritual base , happiness will be shallow and short lived.

Even though a person may reach much success in life, be it in love, family, friends,wealth there comes a time when it is asked, “Is this all there is?”

Hence we come to “Inner Trust” or trusting your higher self to know what is the best course of action to follow. Inner trust means to follow our instincts, or the voice of God, however you want to phrase it. This makes all the difference in the world, when one learns to not take the things we see in the material world at face value and to begin trusting your inner knowledge, or that God within, will life begin to become happier and more prosperous in all ways imaginable.

If your life isn’t going in the direction you would desire, you and only you can change it,you have unlimited potential, limited only by your desire. Based on your thoughts and feelings, your energy fields constantly change, thereby attracting the things, people and circumstances to you that resonate in the same energy frequency as yours. When people who were at one time attracted to each other no longer have a desire to be together, this is why,one or both have changed their vibrational rate and like a positive and negative magnet, they no longer are attracted to each other.

This is a natural occurrence and to attract the people into your life is not something you try to do, just meditate on what you really want,put it out there with the stipulation that is what you want or something better for the highest good of all concerned, and wait for the universe to present the opportunity to you. Then is the time to act on it. We all have free will so we are always attracting someone or something into our lives, when they come into our lives, it is then we have the choice to accept or reject that destiny, learn from it, and retrain our thoughts to be more in line with what we really want.

All that we are is the result

of what we have thought.

Buddha.

Now you can follow me on Kindle.

 

The author has been a writer/photographer for over thirty years. Specializing in nature and landscape photography, as well as studying native cultures.

His travels have taken him to most of the United States, as well as Australia, Belize, Egypt and the Canary Islands.

He has studied the Mayan culture of Central America as well as the aborigines of Australia. Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in various parts of the world.

He has published several books about his adventures.

For more information, please consult his website,www.journeysthrulife.com.

Your comments welcome