A MATTER OF PERCEPTION

A wise man was sitting outside his village. A traveler approached him and asked, "what kind of people live in this village, because I'm looking to move from my present one?" The wise man asked, "what kind of people live where you want to move from?" The man said,"they are mean, cruel and rude." The wise man replied,"the same kind of people live in this village too." Time passed and another traveler came by and asked the same question. The wise man asked him," what kind of people live where you want to move from?" The traveler replied," the people are very kind, courteous, polite and good." The wise man said," you will find the same kind of people here too."

BE A LITTLE HAPPIER

There are 5 things that, when done on a daily basis, result in greater levels of happiness in our lives. 

1. Write down three things for which you are grateful. 

2. Journal one positive experience you had over the last 24 hours. 

3. Exercise - do some form of exercise every day. 

4. Meditate every day. 

5. Random acts of kindness - do one thing for someone else every day. 

Doing these 5 things on a daily basis for a period if 21 days (or longer) will make you a happier person. Why? Because it rewires your brain - it trains your mind to look for happiness and to give happiness. Simple? Yes. Powerful? Yes. By small and simple things great things are brought into being. 

FLIGHT of the BUMBLE BEE?

According to recognized aeronautical principles, the Bumble Bee cannot fly because of the shape and weight of his body in relation to his total wing area. The Bumble Bee doesn't know this; so he goes ahead and flies anyway. 

We are continually learning about the amazing abilities we all possess. Our vision or mental estimate of ourselves activates our subconscious mind and compels us to be all that we imagine ourselves to be. What we give our attention to magnifies and multiplies exceedingly. Think rich and riches follow; think poverty and poverty follows.  The law of life is the law of belief. To believe is to sincerely accept something as true. Believe in the abundant life, the happy life, the successful life, and live in the joyous expectancy of the best, and invariably the best will come to you. Remember that conditions and circumstances are not creative; we, in our thoughts are creative; the creative power is in our thoughts and feelings rather than in the false and limiting suggestions of externalities. We are not victims of our circumstances or happenings, except as we believe we are. We go where our vision is. Hold a mental image of what we want to accomplish and back it up with feeling and enthusiasm. and we, like the Bumble Bee, can do extraordinary things!

A BOWL OF ICE CREAM

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. The server put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" "50 cents" replied the server. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins. "How much is a bowl of plain ice cream?" he inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table and the server was a bit impatient "35 cents," she said brusquely. The little boy again counted the coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The server brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed. When the server came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty bowl, was 15 cents - her tip. 

ULTIMATE SECRET TO SUCCESS

A young man asked the great philosopher Socrates the secret of success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise  and dunked him into the water. The boy struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until the boy started turning blue. Socrates pulled the boys head out of the water and the first thing the boy did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air. Socrates asked,"What did you want the most when you were under water?" The boy replied,"air!" Socrates said,"that is the secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted the air, then you will get it."  There is no other secret. A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishment. 

CONSIDER TRYING AGAIN

A man was passing by some circus elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by what he saw. The huge creatures were being held in place only by a small rope tied to one of their front feet, no chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds. For some reason they made no attempt to escape. He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. "We'll," the trainer said,"when they are very young and much smaller, we use the same size rope to tie  them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free. 

These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right there. Like the elephants, we may be going through life hanging on to a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before. There is really no such thing as failure, only feedback. Consider trying again. It may set you free!

IMPORTANCE OF VARIETY

When I was a kid I loved chewing gum. My favorite was Bazooka bubble gum because the flavor lasted for a good while. Even with Bazooka it wasn't long before I had finished a whole pack, mainly because I would spit out my gum after about 5 minutes, when it had lost its flavor, and open up a new one. It's those first few bites that were so good. The flavor would burst in my mouth and the taste was grand. But then I learned that apparently the flavor doesn't run out! What actually happens is that the taste buds on your tongue get used to the flavor and it appears like the flavor has gone. A condition known as habituation. In reality you're just used to it. If you want to test this for yourself, chew some gum for about 5 minutes or until the flavor seems to have run out. Take the gum out of your mouth and "taste a pinch of salt." This wakes up the taste buds because its a different flavor / taste. Put the gum back in your mouth and you will be surprised at the flavor! So I didn't need to chew so much gum in such a short amount of time. This gum experience is like people's emotions. It's not that people are bored of their jobs or that their relationships are less exciting. It's that they have gotten use to the emotions they experience on a daily basis. They don't have enough emotional variety. They've gotten so used to experiences, the same emotions every day that they blame their life, their job or their relationships. They think that a new job or a new partner will give them that " burst of flavor"! But in reality, all they need is some SALT. Something  to wake up their emotional taste buds. Experience a greater variety of emotions in their daily life. Are you considering a major change in your life? Is a big change really necessary, or do you need to simply "taste a pinch of salt?"